An Accidental Family
by Wutif
Summary: This a fifteen chapter AU fantasy story I wrote last year that involves a missing child, mysterious assassins, royalty and several OC characters, but the plot does sometimes intersect with canon. I decided to share it, for those who like a Klaine love story that explains why Blaine and Kurt are perfect for each other, but never felt like they fit in, with a royal family twist.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Finn is fondly mentioned throughout this story, since when I wrote it, he was still part of the Hudmel family. He will always be part of the Glee family and we will always miss him. I hope you found peace, Cory.

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An Accidental Family

"_Family doesn't have much to do with genetics. It has everything to do with love, respect and caring." _

**Chapter 1 **A Stray

_May 1998 at the Employee Residences, Crockett Zinc Mine, Alaska_

Yay, it was Friday, the end of another long week, working at the motor pool. But to tell the truth, even after another long week of working for the man, Burt would rather have gone into work again on Saturday, rather than spend another mind-numbingly boring weekend alone. At least when he was at work, he got to talk to people, instead of having only his TV to keep him company. This far-northern mining town was the coldest, most unfriendly place he'd ever lived, and it wasn't even the thermometer he was talking about.

Burt had gone to Alaska with a couple of buddies to accumulate a nest egg. He worked as a mechanic in the mining industry, and made some damn good money, but he'd nearly reached his limit with living up here. His friends hadn't even lasted the full term of their first full contract before they'd bailed on him to go back to Ohio to work shifts in a tire factory, but then again, he hadn't had to go a mile underground to work the mines. Burt was still stubbornly hanging in, while a hundred others came and went. Most people here were only focused on making a buck, working all the hours they could get, surviving the isolation by drinking themselves stupid when they were off shift. Nobody bothered cultivating friends, since they were bound to lose touch anyway when they went home.

Burt had already decided that come the end of this contract, he was getting out for good too. Less than a month to go now and he could go back to the land of green grass and corn fields and leave this shack town of contract employees' ugly boxes, scraping an ugly wound into what used to be a pristine wilderness. He had a nice little bankroll saved up and he was ready now to put down some roots somewhere and start a little business, and with any luck, start a family. God knows, he wasn't going to find his future wife here in Crockett, Alaska, with a ratio of 49 guys to one already married woman.

Burt had finished three beers out of his weekly six-pack and eaten half the pizza he'd picked up after work. It sucked cooking just for one, so this was his regular Friday night supper, with the other half of both earmarked for tomorrow's supper. The football game was turning out to be a bust too, with the Buckeyes giving away points like it was Christmas. Burt turned off the TV in disgust and was dozing in his chair, thinking about calling it a night and going to bed, when he heard a sound he'd never heard around here before. It sounded like a kid crying. What the hell?

Maybe it was a puppy wandered away from its mother. Midnight in Alaska was bitterly cold, even in May, so even a puppy shouldn't be outside in this weather. He went to the door to see if he could find whatever creature was crying in distress.

_Holy_ _schmoley_! What the hell was _he_ doing here?

A little kid was on his porch in the freaking middle of the night, wearing the flimsiest outfit Burt had ever seen. He was shivering in a huddle, and looking at up him with the biggest sad blue eyes Burt had ever seen.

From the first moment he'd seen those enormous blue eyes looking back into his, Burt was a goner. The kid screwed up his face to cry again and Burt panicked. "Oh, No! Don't cry, little buddy." Burt leaned out to look up and down the deserted street, wondering where the boy had come from. He could tell from his tracks in the snow, that the kid's bitty little footprints came up his steps from the roadway, but couldn't trace them farther than that, once they mixed with the tire tracks. His light was the only one still burning on the street, so maybe that's why the kid was attracted to his place.

Burt had lived in this tract of identical housing units for nearly two years and he'd never seen this boy before. He was sure of it. Nobody around here had little kids, especially not ones with eyes like those. The boy couldn't stay outside in the cold for one second longer, that was for sure, so Burt swept the half frozen child up into his arms. The boy wrapped his arms around his neck and hung on for all he was worth, trembling like a leaf. Burt held him, his icy cold little body feeling light as a feather.

"It's okay, little guy. I've got you now. You're safe." Burt murmured to him. He heard the boy sigh and felt him lay his head on his shoulder tiredly, as if he was too exhausted to hold it up any longer. Burt took him inside to his living room, bundled him inside his flannel jacket, then tried to lay him on the couch. He whimpered in distress and climbed right back into Burt's lap and snuggled up against him contentedly. _Mmmm… safe …warm …sleepy…_ His feelings emanated from the child like a radio signal.

"All right, then. I can hold you, if you want, little buddy." Burt felt his heart nearly bust into pieces. He wrapped his arms around the child and rocked him until he was warm again, fast asleep on his chest. My god, his lashes were so long they shadowed his pink freckled little cheeks. Burt held his foundling and wondered what the hell he should do now. Whoever he belonged to must be panicking. On the other hand, who lets a four year old run around in the middle of the night in Alaska with only some kind of pajamas on? They shouldn't be allowed to have kids, if that's how they looked after him.

Somehow Burt talked himself into waiting until morning before he called the authorities, reluctant to have the poor kid hauled back out into the cold dark night when he was obviously so tired. Hey, maybe there was an Amber Alert out for him already. Burt reached carefully for the remote so he didn't jostle the boy and turned his TV to the Emergency Alert channel for the first time in his life. Hmm. There was nothing but a public service message to stay tuned for information in the event of a missing child.

Yeah, _got _a missing child here, people! His television signal was beamed in from a satellite, so maybe they didn't even have Amber Alerts around here.

Burt held him for another ten minutes, his warm sleeping body cradled on his chest, before he yawned. He decided if the kid was going to stay here tonight, that they might as well both catch some shut eye. He carried the boy upstairs and parked him in his bed, still wrapped in his jacket. He crawled in beside him fully dressed and watched him sleep for a while, overwhelmed at how incredibly precious the little boy was. He smoothed his soft hair down and watched his mouth tilt up in a tiny smile. Burt was still smiling to himself when he went to sleep.

The next day, when he woke, the boy was sitting up in bed watching_ him_ sleep, with his arms wrapped around his knees, his jacket lying spread open and empty on his bed. Burt stretched and smiled at him. "Good morning, Scooter. How are ya doing today?"

The boy sent a friendly smile back at him but he didn't answer.

_He had been watching the nice man with the kind blue eyes and thinning brown hair sleeping with his mouth open_. _His tummy was very empty, but he had been reminded repeatedly to stay quiet and not make a disturbance so he waited patiently for the man to wake._

So far, his foundling hadn't said a single word to him. For the first time Burt wondered if he was all there. Maybe the kid was …um… special needs, or whatever they called the slow kids these days. Maybe he didn't talk, because he couldn't. Maybe he ran away because he was autistic or something and didn't know any better.

No matter how he got out, it was extremely likely that Burt was about to be arrested because he hadn't turned the boy in to the authorities. Who would the correct authorities around here even be, Burt wondered? They didn't have a police detachment in Crocket; with almost no crime beyond occasional rowdy drunks, there was no reason to.

Burt got out of bed and turned on the TV in his bedroom and checked the Amber Alert again. The tube was his only entertainment, so he had one in his bedroom too. So sue him. There was still nothing on any missing child. Hmm. He tried the only two radio stations he could get next and there was nothing on there either. Surely someone had missed the boy by now? He needed to get the kid's name, he decided. Maybe it would ring a bell since he knew most of the miners, by now.

He got down on his knees and established eye contact. The boy waited expectantly, looking back at him intently. Well, at least there was somebody home, Burt decided with relief. "Hey Buddy, what's your name? Can you tell me that? Tell me your name, Scooter." Burt smiled encouragingly and put his hand on his shoulder. Just about when Burt had given up, his soft high voice said, "I'm called Kiert. What are you called?"

_He would be glad to know what to call the man. He was getting very hungry, but he was reluctant to ask a stranger for something to eat._

Burt blinked in surprise. The child hadn't said, "What's your name". He'd said "What are you called." How odd. Maybe English wasn't his first language, though he spoke precisely. He looked a little foreign in some weird way and his outfit sure as hell didn't come from Target or Wal-Mart.

"I'm called Burt. It sounds a bit like your name, doesn't it? Do you know the second half of your name, Kiert?" Burt said conversationally. Kiert shook his head and waited. He sure wasn't much of a chatterbox, like most little kids his age. Maybe he knew where he lived?

"Where did you come from, Kiert? Where do you live? I'd like to take you back to your Mommy and Daddy. They have to be worried about you."

Kiert just looked back at him with those enormous eyes, and then dropped them and played with the hem of his bluish shirt before he answered softly but clearly. "My mother told me she had to go away from me."

_He remembered her frightened eyes, glancing over her shoulder warily before she explained that he would be safe with his escort. She would find him in a bit and then they could be together again. Stay with the guard, no matter what else happens and you'll be safe, understand Kiert? Kiert had nodded that he did understand. But somehow he had lost his guard last night when he told him to hide in the shed, saying he would be back for him soon. _

_But he didn't come back. _

_Kiert waited for a really long time and got very cold and sleepy after a while. He waited and waited until he was half frozen, but finally he emerged from the shed, to look for him fruitlessly. He wandered aimlessly for a bit, crying in desolation and fear, until he was attracted to the light and warmth of a house. The door had opened and he had been rescued, held safe and warm in the stranger's arms, so this nice man was his guard now._

Burt's heart squeezed in his chest at the child's dejected face. Oh geeze, the poor little guy. He was probably a kid with divorced parents. "How about your Daddy then? Is that who you live with?" Burt tried again. Kiert merely shook his head in answer.

Well….now what? "What about your Gramma? Nana? Your Oma? …or whatever you call her. Do you live with your grandmother, then?" Burt was running out of ideas. Another shake of his head was all Burt got in answer from Kiert. He was stumped. "Well, what do I do with you now?" Burt asked himself.

Burt's question made Kiert brave enough to tell him his problem. "I'm very hungry. Do you have some food?"

Burt smiled at him, grateful to be able to do something for him. "Yes I do. What would you like to eat? I can make you some toast, or I have two kinds of cereal, and there are some eggs. I have a couple of bananas too. Let's go check it out." He held out his hand and the child took it trustingly and went down to the kitchen with him, his small hand fitting into his perfectly.

Burt showed him all the options and he chose Cheerios with a banana on top cut into coins and a glass of orange juice. He watched the boy carefully balance each banana slice in the exact center of his spoon and eat them, one by one before he ate any of the cereal. That was one weird little kid, Burt decided.

While he ate, Burt checked the radio and TV again. Afterward, the boy finished his orange juice, and slid off his chair to take his bowl and glass to the sink, carefully placing them inside. Then he held his dickie and did the peepee dance, rocking from foot to foot, so Burt showed him where the bathroom was. He used it without any help, thank goodness, and then he washed his hands with just some assistance with reaching the faucets. At least someone had taken good care of him, it was clear.

_Kiert thought the man's house was barren and ugly but knew they had to settle for any safe place they could find. Over the last few weeks they had stayed in worse places. He could tell the nice man was doing his best to look after him._

Burt watched the radio and TV all day but nothing ever showed up on a missing kid. He had talked himself into believing that whoever his mother was, she was unfit if she told a little kid she had to leave, and then just forgot about him. If she didn't want him anymore, then surely the boy was better off with him. It didn't take much persuasion to extend the deadline one more day before he contacted the authorities in Nome.

The boy watched cartoons cuddled in his lap that afternoon, enthralled at the characters. His carefree giggles sounded heartwarming to Burt, something about his voice making him laugh with him every time. He was considering making them some lunch when he noticed how quiet Kiert was being. He leaned his head to see the boy was sleeping on his chest again. His heart squeezed tight inside him again. Burt had always loved kids, but he was twenty eight now and hadn't yet met his future wife. Kiert felt like the son he'd always wanted and man, he wished to hell that he could keep him. But that was just crazy…wasn't it?

He laid the boy back in his bed upstairs and covered him again carefully with the jacket he had left there, since he still seemed to feel cool to the touch. Burt figured he most likely had at least half an hour before he woke, but just to make sure, he turned this TV to cartoons too and left the sound turned down low, so he'd have something to keep him occupied in case he woke up. He grabbed his coat and loped down the street to the general store. It was the only place in town, so if they didn't have something, you had to order it and wait till it was shipped.

Did they even carry kid's stuff? Luckily, he found most of what he wanted, most of it company stuff with the mine logo printed on it for the miners to send home to their families, throwing random items into his cart and paying for it all with his credit card. Within the half hour he was back home, with his sacks in hand. He tiptoed back upstairs and was relieved to see Kiert was still sleeping. He had the strongest urge to pet his hair again, but shook it off, afraid of disturbing him.

He went back downstairs and unpacked his purchases and put the food away. When he went back upstairs to check again, he found the boy watching the cartoons, still lying in bed, with his jacket still wrapped around him.

"Hi Kiert. Did you want some lunch?" It was already three o'clock, but Burt was brand new at this parenting thing. The boy nodded eagerly and climbed out of bed, reaching for Burt's hand trustingly as they went downstairs. Burt smiled happily, deciding he could get used to this.

_Kiert had woken up alone, but saw the cartoons on the television, and saw the jacket lying over him and understood the man had left them for him, so he was probably close by keeping watch. He stayed where he was, just in case, afraid to find out he was all alone again. _

They had lunch together, the boy thoughtfully choosing peanut butter and toast and a desert cup of diced peaches this time. Burt was glad he had guessed right, avoiding canned and processed glop and going for plain and healthy. He had picked up some warmer clothes at the store, deciding Kiert's flimsy sheer outfit wasn't keeping him warm enough. He took off the boy's top, amazed at how pale and milky white his skin was underneath, as if he'd never been in the sun. Burt could see the network of his blood vessels right through his skin. Before he got the new shirt on him, Kiert climbed off the bed, went to the bathroom and eyed the tub with a hopeful inquiring glance back to Burt. Okay then. He nodded, agreeing it was bath time.

_Kiert loved having a bath, and felt yucky after nearly a week without one. They didn't seem to be leaving this place just yet, so maybe there was time for one. _

Burt was a little uncomfortable about this. What if the kid told people he'd taken his clothes off? They'd lock him up forever and throw the key away. But if he was going to look after him, he needed to do it right and damn the consequences. He filled the tub, while the boy peed in the toilet again. At least he didn't have to worry about toilet training him.

The boy played in the tub for nearly an hour till the water was cool and he was all pruney, slipping and sliding on his belly and blowing bubbles, filling a couple of plastic tubs and dumping them, over and over again. He kept asking for just a little longer, until Burt finally had to drain the water to convince him to come out again, and enveloped him in one of his towels, playing peek a boo to make him laugh, while he rubbed his hair dry.

He dressed him in a T-shirt with a blue hoodie over it that was about two sizes too big, and a pair of jeans, with an elastic waist. They were a couple sizes too big too, so he still had to fold up the legs for a couple of inches to shorten them enough. He was glad he'd remembered to pick up socks and underwear, since he discovered the boy wasn't wearing any, instead wearing some sort of slipper things that went to his ankles. Sheesh, this was Alaska, people. Burt combed his damp shaggy hair for him and then they brushed his teeth with his new Panda bear toothbrush. He giggled when Burt made him spit in the sink, as if being told to spit was hilarious.

Afterward, they built a fort in the kitchen, draping blankets over the table. Kiert spent a lot of time carefully making a nest inside the fort, with several couch cushions and more blankets and then he formally invited Burt to share it with him, like a king in his castle. Burt gladly crawled under the table, pleased at Kiert's acceptance into his world. They shared a contented grin, lying on their bellies together, with their chins being supported in their hands. Burt's feet stuck out into the hallway from the fort, but he didn't care. They both liked the feeling of the cosy refuge wrapped around them.

They coloured for a while after that with a pencil, two pens and two markers, which was all he could find around the house. Burt watched carefully to see if Kiert drew anything illuminating, but he was just little and mostly everything looked like blobs with sticks in them. He hoped he might say something more informative about his pictures, but he was an unusually quiet little kid.

Burt learned at supper that the boy liked fruit and vegetables, but didn't care much for meat, eggs or cheese, which were _his _favourite food groups. Maybe his parents were vegan? He told Kiert a story when he put him in bed that night, pretending to read it from the newspaper, about a lost bunny who found his way home to his worried mummy and daddy.

_Kiert really liked the story, knowing Burt was trying to comfort him by indirectly saying he hoped Kiert would find his way back to his mummy and daddy too. He hoped he would see his mummy again soon, even though the man was very nice to him. He hadn't seen his daddy in a very long time and doubted that he was ever going to see him again. He was very worried that his mommy might be gone now too. Why did he keep losing people?_

Burt told Kiert he should go to sleep afterward and he would see him in the morning. The boy fearfully asked if Burt would still keep watch over him, while he slept. Burt patted him and said he would be watching over him all night. Then Kiert curled into himself and it was lights out a few minutes later. He never budged when Burt went to sleep too, a few hours later.

The next day went much like the first. He was the easiest kid to look after Burt had ever met. He never whined or complained and did whatever Burt asked him to. But that night, he knew he was between a rock and a hard place. He had to go to work tomorrow back at the motor pool. He could likely get away with one day off sick, but not much more without running into questions. Where was he going to leave Kiert? Everybody in this god forsaken company town was only here to work. The only person he knew of that didn't work, couldn't look after a kid….or maybe she could. Kiert was no trouble, was he?

Burt dressed Kiert in the hoodie and some hightop runners he'd bought him, and was pleased to see him admire the black trim and silver sparkle laces. He seemed baffled by the mitts, though, shaking his hands like they were dirty and he wanted them off. "Leave them on, Kiert. They'll keep you warmer". Burt got a suspicious side glance, as if he didn't believe him and couldn't help chuckling at the unspoken volumes of scepticism in that look.

_Kiert wondered why anyone would want to make their hands so useless, and wondered if the man was playing a trick on him. He left them on anyway, unwilling to blatantly disobey him, but the mittens were stupid._

"Hey buddy, we're going to visit a friend of mine. She's lonely sometimes, so I thought we could keep her company. Is that okay with you?" Kiert nodded agreeably. "Good boy." Burt said, wondering what he was going to say to her, when they got there. He was making this up as he went along.

He carried Kiert down the street a couple units, so his shoes would stay dry, and knocked on the door and went in when he heard her answer, leaving his boots at the door and setting Kurt down in the hall. There was music playing in the living room when they went in and Kiert went right to the speaker and began to sway back and forth to the rhythm, obviously into the beat. Burt was pleased at finding something else that delighted the boy.

_The music sounded a chord deep within Kiert, like a hug you could hear!_

Deana rolled out of the bedroom in her wheelchair. "Hiya, Burt. What brings you over here? Sorry, Leo is working today, if you were looking for him. My god, is that a little kid? He's adorable! Hi sweetheart. What's your name?" Deana rolled up close and waited for Kiert to answer, with a smile spread across her face. Kiert glommed onto Burt's leg, and stared at her chair with fear in his huge eyes.

_That shiny metal was all around her, holding her in its grip!_

"It's okay, Kiert. It's just Deana's wheel chair. Her legs don't work right, so it helps her get around. Don't worry, it won't hurt you." Burt soothed him, and was pleased that his hold on his leg loosened a bit, though he kept one hand on him, for now, just in case.

"That's right, Kurt. My chair can give rides to little boys too. You can have one anytime you want. Just tell me when you're ready." She smiled at him warmly and he smiled back a little shyly. Burt had heard what she had called the boy and decided it was easier than his strange variation of it, so he went with 'Kurt' too.

_So many things about these people were strange, so Kiert hardly noticed that they said his name wrong too._

"Uh, yeah. Deana, my brother is a single dad and he's sick so Kurt is visiting for a bit. I was hoping he could stay here with you while I go to work. He's really no hassle at all. He can handle the bathroom on his own, and he does whatever you tell him. I can drop off food and stuff for him, and I'd pay you. I'd really appreciate it if you could give me a hand." Burt smiled as engagingly as he could, all but begging. At least if Kurt was here, nobody would see him and turn Burt in for a kidnapper, which was a definite plus. He tried not to think about what he was doing. He'd always been law-abiding until now, but the temptation to keep this child was too strong.

Deana asked if she could spend some time with Kurt and Burt before she made up her mind. After a bit, she noticed Kurt's fascination with music and knew that was the key to his heart. She played her guitar for him and he sat and watched her, with an enraptured smile on his face. _He loved the sounds from her guitar. Her voice wasn't as musical, but it didn't matter._

When she was done, she turned on some cartoons and left him watching them there on the couch, while Burt and she figured out the details. He gave her his cell number, saying to call if there were any problems, but he didn't foresee any. By the time they left, Kurt had made another conquest.

_Kiert had very much enjoyed meeting Burt's friend and hearing the music she made. One day he wanted to make music too._

Burt left the boy there the next morning, and Kurt seemed fine with it…for a few minutes. His cell phone rang five minutes after he left, when he was only half way to work. He could hear Kurt wailing in the background, obviously in a panic. He came back, picked up Kurt and called in to work sick. Deana apologetically said the boy didn't want to stay at her house, no matter what she said or did, going half hysterical when he realized Burt was gone.

_He needed to stay with Burt, his mother said so! She said 'no matter what, stay with your guard', he remembered her voice stressing it. _

"Why didn't you want to stay at Deana's, Kurt?" Burt wondered, when they got home.

"There was nobody watching over me, so I was scared." Kurt answered promptly. Burt nodded, understanding now. Something had scared the poor boy silly. What would a sweet little boy like him have to worry about?

Burt impulsively decided he was getting out of this town early, as soon as he could arrange it. Kurt wasn't willing to stay with anyone else, and so far, no one had seemed to miss him. He was going to make a run for it and start a new life with his new son. He knew he could take better care of the boy than who ever had frightened him so badly he was afraid to be left alone.

Burt had to pay a week's pay penalty for every week off his contract, so for three week's pay, he could leave three weeks early, plus the pay he didn't earn, of course. It was a tidy chunk of money at the ridiculous wages he was paid here, but it was worth it to him. He gave his notice, and booked their flights out. It took very little to tie up the loose ends here, even after two years. He packed Kurt's few things into the suitcase with his own, and arranged to ship his tools home by separate cargo plane.

Kurt loved the flight, up on his knees looking out the window for most of the way to San Francisco and at the beginning of the next leg to Columbus. He had a million questions about what he saw under him, with the ocean, the mountains, forests, fields, lakes and cities catching his interest. He seemed to particularly love the mountains, with their snow-capped peaks.

_Kiert had seen the big water and the forests before. He'd seen the mountains from below, and seeing them from above was much nicer, because they weren't as dark and scary from there. _

Suddenly it grew quiet, with him curled against the window, sleeping again, his mouth open disarmingly. Burt pulled him into his arms and held him close until they were ready to land.

So Kurt was Burt's son now. He'd been pretty nervous about flying with Kurt, but the flight security back then was haphazard, since nobody but employees flew in or out of Crockett; the bored attendant stamped their paperwork routinely with barely a glance. Burt had used the motor pool office computer to scan and edit Kurt's name and birthdate into a copy of his own ID. He chose the day he had found him for Kurt's birthday and made him five years old. It worked like a dream! Burt realized later that if he had found Kurt after 911 he would have never gotten him on a flight, with the upgraded security levels and official identification requirements.

They stayed in a motel near the airport that night, both of them too tired to travel. The next day he rented a car, and drove back to Lima, his home town. His parents had lived there until his mother moved to Florida when his father passed away, and most of his school friends were still there. Burt thought Ohio was the ideal place to raise a kid. Everybody knew their neighbours and looked out for each other. He'd had a million friends when he went to school, and he wanted that environment for his son to grow up in.

At first, Burt rented a room at the Shadetree Motor Inn, for a couple of days, until he figured things a few things out. He had a sizable stack of money saved to live on, so he was good for quite a while, but he'd need a job eventually. He rented a two bedroom apartment, to serve as their home, until he found a job. It took a full two weeks before Kurt would sleep alone in his own room, unconvinced at first that Burt could watch over him from the living room or his bedroom. He'd wake up every morning and find Kurt had snuck into bed with him again.

_Slowly, Kiert learned they would be staying here from now on, in their own special safe place, protected by Burt._

One day Burt noticed Davidson's Oil and Lube was for sale and stopped in to talk to the owner, holding Kurt in his arms the whole time to keep him from falling into the grease pit, while the child looked around in wide eyed interest. Old man Davidson was well over sixty and all twisted with arthritis, and his grown kids wanted nothing to do with the shop. Burt made him an impulse offer of fifty thou, for the building, the business, the truck and everything in it, and the old man snapped it up. He told Burt he hoped his son might show more interest in the business than his two boys had, with a hopeful pat on Kurt's shoulder. Burt arranged for the closing to take effect in September after Kurt started school. His tools arrived a month later, and Buck Davidson let him store them at the shop until he took over.

Next, he picked up the Henson's empty house for a song from the bank, a repossession they were happy to sell to him. It was just a tiny little story and a half house, with two small bedrooms upstairs and two rooms and a bathroom downstairs, but it was big enough for the two of them and it was nice and close to Davidson's.

Now they were all set for their future, his son and he.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This entire story was written a while ago, with 15 Chapters, which ****I hope to update every four or five days, until its done.**** I didn't publish it then because it is far more fanciful than most of my stories, but I recently reread it and thought people might enjoy it. This chapter is still mostly canon background, illustrating how tight father and son become, in spite of the fact that they couldn't be more different. The story becomes AU in the next chapter, after Blaine appears. Though it remains true to canon, because Kurt is immediately attracted to him., things definitely leave the normal life of Klaine, when Kurt is tracked down by hired assassins. **

* * *

**Chapter 2 Growing Up**

Burt and his son spent the following summer happily together, going to the park and playing every day, with the only sour note the few times Kurt had woken crying from bad dreams. Burt likely should have guessed something like that might happen, but when it was time to start school in September, he was completely unprepared for Kurt's balking. His son didn't _want_ to go to school, no matter what Burt said or did.

He tried everything, bribing him with ice-cream, peeling him off his leg and leaving Kurt distraught and wailing at Kindergarten, until they called him to come back because they couldn't him get to stop. He tried staying and comforting him, promising him anything he wanted as a reward, but nothing convinced Kurt that he should stay, without Burt there to guard him. It damn near broke his heart when he'd hear that he cried hysterically the whole time until Burt came back.

So…Burt began to stay at school with him every day, thinking eventually he would learn it was safe there. Two weeks later he still wouldn't let his father leave, without panicking. Kurt was one very obdurate boy, he was learning, once he made his mind up about something, so unless his father was willing to repeat his whole school career, he had to find another option.

Burt had tried taking out a bunch of library books to learn how to deal with children's fears, but he'd already tried all the stuff they advised, and none of their ideas worked for _his_ son. In desperation, he got a picture taken of his ugly mug to put in a picture frame, planning to put it in the classroom at school and tell the boy he would watch him through the magic window, from wherever he was. It might have been playing a cheap trick on his son, but he was ready to try _anything_ to convince Kurt it was safe to stay at scholl without him.

Kurt looked at the frame curiously, when he brought home it. Burt had picked out the one he bought because the woman smiling from the frame was so very beautiful. He hadn't yet given up on finding his own lady and one just like her would be just fine with him.

"Nice lady." Kurt said, looking at his dad with a sweet smile.

_Her face seemed familiar from a time when he didn't have to hide, and that made him smile._

Burt agreed. "Yep, she's very pretty. She looks a little like _you_, doesn't she?" Burt added in realization, wondering if that was why Kurt was attracted to it. Maybe she looked like his mother. She had big blue eyes like Kurt's and her hair was golden brown, like his. She_ could_ have been his mother.

"No, she looks like Tiana. My mother has lighter hair." The boy corrected him definitively, then went back to neatly stacking his blocks.

And who the heck is Tiana, Burt wondered to himself, surprised all to hell by Kurt's answer. He asked Kurt more questions, but he didn't say any more about his mother or the other lady.

_Kurt didn't know how to tell Burt that though she was vaguely familiar, he had already begun to forget Tiana and his mother, except for that warm hugged feeling when he thought 'mother'. _

"Can Tiana watch over you too?" Burt asked curiously, trying an experiment. Kurt thought for a second, and then nodded his agreement.

_She was one of the good people, he knew, so his mother would probably be fine with that._

Okay then, this was even better, Burt thought.

Tiana went to school with Kurt the next day and sat on the bookcase watching over Kiert. Burt told his teachers that Kurt was comforted by the photo of his deceased mother, and awkwardly accepted their sympathies for his loss, before he escaped. It worked! Kurt stayed at school that day, occasionally glancing up to make sure Tiana was still there, watching.

After that, their lives quickly settled into a peaceful routine. Kurt learned quickly, especially anything connected to music. He always seemed to respond when he heard music, drawing him out from the shy withdrawn child he usually was. Burt tried taking guitar lessons himself, but he was all fingers and thumbs and gave it up in frustration, facing the fact that his son had all the musical talent in their family

Now that Burt could focus on his new business, he repainted the dilapidated garage inside and out, with his name emblazoned across the front of it. He was mighty tempted to add "& Son" to the end, but on second thought, decided he should wait till Kurt grew up a bit, in case he wasn't really into auto mechanics. Kurt was already showing he wasn't much of a physical kid, preferring television and music to building or repairing anything, preferring to live in his pretend world, where everyone got a happy ending.

Burt strongly emphasized fair customer service when he opened and as a result, his business grew every week, and he soon had to hire a couple of guys to keep up. He had to duck out every day to pick up his son after school, but that was no big deal because now, _he_ was 'the man'. He set up a TV and a play area for Kurt in a corner of the office and it worked out great for all of them.

Over the years, Burt's back-story about Kurt and the lady in the frame, Burt's sadly deceased wife Elizabeth, got more and more elaborate, until he nearly believed it himself. And luckily, as his son grew, it really was eerie how much he continued to resemble her. Kurt eventually got over being frightened of being left alone at school after a few months, finally deciding the teachers could watch over him too.

Over the following years, the Hummel men remained pretty content with their quiet mundane life. Kurt spent his summers at the shop and eventually his play room moved upstairs to the storage room, where he could put on his pretend stories and watch movies and sing along with the songs without interruption. The years went by quickly and in grade three, Kurt started walking from school the four blocks to the shop on his own where he sometimes helped out his father and his two employees, sweeping, restocking belts and filters and cleaning up tools and stuff.

One day, when he was nine, he arrived at the shop with a bruise on his cheek, mud all over him and a front tooth completely missing. Burt cupped his chin and tilted his head, brushing his hair off his forehead. "That's gonna turn into a black eye. What happened, Kurt?"

Kurt shrugged silently, unwilling to talk about it. He stared at his shoes, high top runners with lights that sparkled when he ran or danced, pressing his heel into the floor to make it light up. Blink. Blink. Blink.

"Come on, Scooter. Tell me what happened." Burt insisted gently, pulling his son close, regretting that Kurt was too big to be cuddled on his father's lap anymore. Kurt leaned against his father, absorbing comfort with the smell of oil and grease surrounding him. Burt squeezed his shoulder to remind him he was still waiting for an answer.

He still wouldn't look at his father's face, when he reluctantly answered him . "A boy pusthed me." That was all the answer his father ever got out of the stubborn kid. He knew the tooth was loose and about to fall out anyway, but Burt was really ticked that it had fallen out like _that_. Now he wouldn't get to be the tooth fairy until the next one went, though he would never admit that out loud to anybody.

"Do you know why he did it?" Burt asked quietly, smoothing his son's hair again. Kurt shrugged dumbly again, reluctant to talk about it. Burt rolled his eyes in consternation. His son never played outside in the sun unless he was forced to, so he was pale, slight and delicate, with a gawky gait that reminded Burt of a gazelle. Maybe it sounded stupid, but really, that described Kurt perfectly. He was wary, delicate, and fragile…just like a gazelle. There were always kids who picked on the weaker ones and that had probably happened today.

"Try to stay around the other kids, Kurt. If he can't catch you alone, maybe you won't be an easy target, but you need to _tell_ me if you have more trouble from him, okay?" Burt tipped up his chin to stare directly into Kurt's eyes, with his warning. Kurt unexpectedly wrapped his arms around his middle, hugging him gratefully. Burt's hands held his frail shoulders, wishing he could be there all the time to protect his son from rotten kids who picked on him.

_Kurt hugged his father, gaining comfort from his solid bulk and_ so _grateful his father cared when nobody else seemed to. By now, he had almost forgotten that Burt wasn't his real father. Sometimes he was still haunted by dreams of running away, trying to escape, but he didn't remember who or what he was running from anymore. He just knew his Dad always represented safety. Kurt preferred his father's undemanding company to the other boys his age, boys who pushed and shoved and wanted to play with trucks and kick things around, doing his best to avoid competitive games, and getting dirty. The girls mostly thought he was weird too and avoided him, so he really didn't have any friends. He didn't blame them really, because he knew perfectly well he was very different from all the other kids, but he just didn't know what made him so special._

Kurt remained one of the smallest in his class, compared to the other kids his age. He was smarter than most, so Burt wondered if he had guessed wrong when he made him five, the year he found him. He could have said he was four, but Kurt was so quick he didn't want him lumped in with kids who were way behind him developmentally. He always kept his marks up, so Burt was glad he had done it. Size doesn't really matter much, right? His boy still had time to catch up.

The year his son turned ten, he started Kurt in 'Voice Lessons'. He'd been singing for ever, instantly able to pick up a tune and keep it in key, so Burt figured it was worth cultivating his talent. His voice was sweet and high, like Burt imagined an angel's voice sounded. He might just be biased though.

_Kurt loved going to voice lessons, appreciating someone helping him to fine tune his voice like an instrument. He met other people whose voices were being trained, people who thought his voice was remarkable. _

Kurt finally found someone interested in the same things he was at Voice, and didn't think he was too weird to be his friend. He happily hung out with Mercedes Jones and sometimes after their lesson they acted out different roles in Disney movies together. They were so cute, making Burt smile to see Kurt and Mercedes, when they were playing together. Yeah, his boy had his first girlfriend!

Three years later they were still best buddies but while the other boys were starting to sprout up and fill out, Kurt _still_ looked prepubescent. He got picked on even more, since he didn't really fit in anywhere, simply uninterested in the same things the other kids were. Now, Burt was regretting not making Kurt a year younger. At least he wouldn't expect to _look_ like a teenager if he thought he was younger.

_Kurt's voice teacher seemed grateful he hadn't grown as fast as the other boys had. She told him that one day, his voice would break and drop two or three octaves, and then the special clarity and timbre she loved in it would be gone forever. Kurt grew fearful that his music would be silenced and tried to be grateful he looked three years younger than his age. He was six inches shorter than most boys and still had the childish rounded cheeks of childhood, made worse by the dusting of freckles that showed up every time he spent any time outside._ _He did grow a bit over the next two years, but not as much as the other boys and his voice remained in the soprano range. The sunblock he now used religiously kept those hated freckles out of sight, and kept his skin soft and smooth._

Mercedes didn't care a bit _what_ her best friend looked like. They went to movies and shopping together, and eagerly competed at singing recitals. Kurt won a few competitions, to Burt's pride, though he sounded more like a girl than the girls did, with his voice high and clear as a bell. He still got hassled a lot at junior high, so Burt started picking him up again, so he would arrive home without new bruises.

The following year was his son's first year in senior high. He was fourteen...and a half, at least according to his ID. Kurt still looked twelve and was only five foot four, while some of the other boys were frigging _shaving_ already and were six feet tall! He never said much, but Burt knew it had to be really tough on him. He always had bruises, though he made sure that he never showed much skin any more, to keep them hidden from his father.

_Kurt had always known he was special, vastly different from the other kids. The year he was fourteen he confirmed he was different in another way from all the other boys. There was a new give and take between the boys and the girls, in a definite change from the segregation of the sexes in middle school. The girls were endlessly fascinating to the boys, and the girls in turn, played stupid games, competing to make the boys do silly stuff to earn their admiration. He didn't get their fascination. They were just girls. _

_It wasn't until gym class, when his classmates undressed in the fiercely macho pushing and shoving atmosphere of the change room, that he understood their fascination. Casey was perfect, tall and blond, his shoulders, chest and arms strong and muscular, his hips and thighs lean and slim. His best friend Greg was experimenting with growing a wispy mustache, but already had a trail of dark hair running up from his briefs to the divot in his chest where his pecs divided into two smooth planes. Kurt had to face the wall when he changed to keep from staring at them. _

_He knew they would torment him even more if they noticed his interest. The week before they had thrown him into the showers fully dressed and routinely yanked up his underwear to give him a wedgie, or sometimes shoved him into the cubicles and locked him in, laughing like hyenas when he begged to be released. They regularly called everybody around them gay, as a catch-all for anybody who didn't fit in to their narrow acceptable confines, but now Kurt knew they were absolutely right about him. It didn't seem that big a deal, just one more thing that set him apart from the others._

He spent a lot of time alone in his room and practicing his singing that year, since Mercedes had made lots of new friends and blossomed into a real lady herself. Fashion and music went hand in hand, so gradually, he spent more time on his appearance, coordinating his outfits and styling his hair. Burt tried to tell him to just wear nice hoodies to fit in better, but Kurt imperiously said he chose to stand out instead. Fair enough, Burt sighed. Where he got his courage and self-confidence from, Burt couldn't say, but he admired him for it. It was just that…well, he looked kind of prissy in those outfits.

_Kurt decided that he wasn't going to hide anymore. He was special, and he knew it. Dressing in nice clothing set him apart from the troglodytes he went to school with. All they cared about were asinine sports teams, and lying about getting laid. He rolled his eyes at their stupidity when they did insane skateboard tricks that were guaranteed to cause head injuries or neuter them, deciding it was evolution's way to weed out the dumbest ones, before they got a chance to breed. Not surprisingly , the other boys didn't appreciate his distain, and took every opportunity to take him down a few notches._

There seemed to be a whole new tension in the air between Kurt and his father now. Burt knew Kurt was being constantly harassed, but he refused to talk about it, or let Burt help him deal with it. Burt was frustrated, because Kurt did everything he could to stand out, instead of playing along to slip under their radar. It was frustrating as hell for Burt, but that was Kurt, the most stubborn kid he'd ever met. Once he set his mind on something, there was nothing to be done but learn to live with it. He missed his son though, since he had withdrawn into an airtight shell, where Burt couldn't follow.

One night, Burt had driven Kurt home from voice lessons with Mercedes, and watched them as they walked up the stairs arm in arm, with a matching sashay. From the back they looked like two girls, even wearing matching hats. Burt heard them laughing and giggling…sounding exactly like a couple of teenaged girls. The reason for Kurt's emotional withdrawal hit Burt right between the eyes, and he had to give up swimming the river in Egypt.

Holy crap, his kid was freaking gay!

He sighed in resignation, understanding now why Kurt had been the town's punching bag for the last couple of years. He had changed very slowly over time, so Burt had managed to avoid seeing what was right in front of his face. Now that he thought about it, he'd noticed years ago that Kurt wasn't your average boy, never been average at_ anything_. Burt remembered a few less than stellar moments of his time in high school that he was deeply ashamed of now, where he had picked on little Ritchie Santini, and hell, it was highly unlikely Richey wasn't even homosexual. He had three kids now that looked just like him.

Burt waited for Kurt to come talk to him about it, but he never did. Maybe he thought Burt already knew, but whatever kept him quiet, Burt decided to let him call the shots. His kid deserved to manage his own life, if he had the courage to flaunt his sexuality here in rural Ohio. If Burt hadn't clued in then, he would surely have figured it out the day he caught Kurt and two other girls dressed in spandex in his room, rehearsing a Rihanna song. Geeze, now that was the least subtle thing he'd ever seen Kurt do! Burt watched him carefully and waited, ready to come to his rescue any time he needed him.

After that brief interlude where Kurt played football in a last futile effort to be the son he thought Burt wanted, Kurt fearfully blurted out his confession in his bedroom one night, as if afraid Burt might suddenly not love him anymore, once he knew he was gay. He seemed enormously relieved to hear Burt gently respond that it wasn't news to him. The tension dissipated a bit, the air cleared and they both relaxed again. Burt regretted not saying something to his son earlier about already knowing but it had never occurred to him that Kurt might think he wouldn't accept him, if he was homosexual. Kurt was his _son_ and he would always love him, no matter what!

After that the clothes got even more complicated and the outfits more….well, gay. Burt trusted Kurt to run his own life, so he gave him a credit card with a five hundred dollar limit and let him shop. Guilt might have been a major factor in Burt's generosity. He should have seen Kurt's dilemma sooner, and not let him worry so long about his dad rejecting him.

Sometimes Burt had to bite his tongue when he saw what his kid was going to wear to school. Those _really _tight red pants. Holy crap. The plaid jacket…with the buckles ….and the sheer flounced blouse …oh geeze. It nearly killed him, but he never commented negatively, no matter how hard it was to keep his mouth shut, because Kurt was surely getting enough of that at school.

One night over supper, Kurt wheedled him into going to a school interview. Sure, whatever. Burt hadn't worried about Kurt's marks, _ever_. His kid was really bright, but for some reason he wanted him to go to his school. Kurt never asked for much from him, so okay, they went to his school.

Turns out, Kurt just wanted to introduce him to Carole Hudson. She was nice…really nice. Not a fantastic looker, but then, neither was he. They talked easily, while Kurt hung out just within earshot with a pleased smile on his face, and within the next few minutes he learned she was a widow, supporting her son working as a nurse at the local hospital. Burt asked her out, to please Kurt. She seemed surprised by his interest, but she accepted quickly enough.

Burt had sort of given up on ever finding his lady love. Now that he had a son he was raising, his life seemed much less lonely than it once had. But sometimes, when Kurt was sewing and stuff in his room, Burt got lonely. It might be nice to date someone he had something in common with.

They went out on Saturday night to dinner and a movie and it was really _great_. Carole had gotten her hair done, and dressed up nice, and wow, she cleaned up real well! Kurt had insisted his father wear some new stylish jeans and a light sweater he'd bought for him, instead of his usual shop pants and flannel and he looked real goooood!

They hit it off right away, laughing and talking all night. They found they had tons in common, both being single parents. Apparently both their boys were in the school's Glee club and her kid was the freaking quarterback of the school's football team! Awesome! He kissed her goodnight after their date, and told her he'd really like to see her again.

He and Carole dated steadily for the next month. Kurt was weirdly invested in his social life, nosily asking where they went and what they did. Granted, Burt had never had a social life before, and Kurt still didn't, but he didn't have to tell him everything, did he? He sure wasn't going to tell him he and Carole had made out in the car like teenagers in her driveway, till they steamed up the windows. She apologized for not inviting him in, since her son was home. Wheweeee. It felt good to get back in the game after more than a decade of celibacy. He wasn't dead _yet_.

On their next date, Carole coyly said she had suggested her kid stay at his friend's house, so she could invite him in. Burt tried to be cool about it, but holy cow, did she mean what he thought she might?

She _did!_ They spent most of the evening in her bed, while he tried his best to please his lady. She seemed to think he did alright, but she made it easy for him. What an amazing woman she was. He was finally falling in love!

Kurt never came right out and asked if he and Carole were having …ahem…relations. Actually, Kurt avoided discussing anything sexual at _all._ The guys in the shop sometimes got crude, but Kurt always left the vicinity when it got too earthy. If they were watching a movie and there were sex scenes, Kurt always had a load of wash to change or had to go to the bathroom. Yeah, well, it was always_ hetero_ sex, so no doubt that was why he was grossed out.

On the other hand, he'd dragged his father along with him _three _times to the theatre to watch Brokeback Mountain, when it came to town. He'd had to, since it was rated PG and Kurt was only fifteen. His son didn't seem very grossed out by whatever the hell was going on in that dark tent, but Burt could guess why Kurt wanted to see a movie about two guys discovering how tough it was to be gay in the Midwest. Burt thought it was a fricking depressing movie, for a gay kid to fixate on. He hoped to hell Kurt's life would turn out a lot better than those poor sods' had. All Burt wanted was for his son to find happiness, in whatever way he preferred.

One day Burt nearly had a conniption, when he walked in on Kurt in his bedroom…making out with a girl! Like, he was in her lap kissing her, wearing flannel and overalls, in a caricature of Burt. Oh, son.

Burt backed out of the room stone-faced, pretending Kurt was actually convincing him he was suddenly straight, wondering if the girl was convinced. It didn't seem likely. It was hard to act interested in somebody if you weren't, even if they were the _right_ sex. Burt knew he was right when he never saw the girl 'with' Kurt again.

God, someday soon he was going to have to give his boy 'the talk', but hopefully it would be years yet before he had to do it. Kurt still looked nearly prepubescent, so he should be good to put if off for some time yet. It was Carole who clued him in that Kurt's looks didn't really tell the whole story. Her son, Finn, the quarterback? Yeah, that one. Her son had confessed to her that Kurt had a crush on him and he didn't know how to handle it.

OH MY GOD! Burt sat with his head in his hands, understanding _now_ exactly why Kurt had introduced him to Carole. The devious little schemer was trying to get Carole and him together so he could get closer to her son! AWK..ward!

Well…he really, really liked Carole. Actually, he loved her. He planned to marry her, so he needed to figure this mess out. She insisted her son was without a doubt straight as a razor and backed it up by telling him she'd found Finn's stash of masturbation magazines under his mattress and they all featured half naked women. NO chance _ever_, of that going anywhere, in spite of Kurt's machinations. Great! So, Burt decided to proceed as if he didn't know about it, and hopefully Kurt's crush would die a quiet death from starvation.

As the first step toward matrimony, Burt asked Carole to move in with him. She countered by suggesting she start by spending the night a few times, and seeing how it went, before they turned everyone's life upside down and then discovered they weren't compatible. A smart lady, his girlfriend was.

Kurt nearly had a heart attack the next day when he got up and discovered Carole in the kitchen in her housecoat, drinking coffee. He was polite to her, though bright red with embarrassment, awkwardly stilted at being caught in his pajamas with bed head. Everyone was rather uncomfortable, but Kurt was just going to have to get used to his father's girlfriend staying overnight. It was his scheme, after all.

Burt could see it now, their two little families gradually combining into one, but he should have remembered that life seldom turned out the way he planned.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This is quite a long chapter, but I wanted to get through laying out the background to move into plot development. **

* * *

**Chapter 3 An Unconventional Teen**

Ironically, it was Burt who had a heart attack the next week. Actually, it was tachycardial fibrillation, but yeah, he would have died if the paramedics hadn't gotten his heart beat synced again with those electric paddles. It was pretty touch and go for a while there, almost a week before he was fully conscious again, feeling weak as a kitten.

_Kurt felt the world drop out from under him when his father nearly died. He depended on him for everything, and those five and a half days while his father hovered on the edge of death were the longest days of his life. The relief when his dad finally regained consciousness was almost overwhelming. Thank god, he was going to be alright! He needed his dad around for quite a few years yet, hopefully forty or fifty or so._

When Burt was released from hospital, Kurt almost suffocated him with overcautious attention, to make damn sure he didn't pull anything stupid like that, ever again. Nearly dying put things into perspective for Burt too. He needed to get a move on with marrying Carole, to make sure Kurt still had a family if anything happened to him, but first they needed to get their boys on board with their plan.

When the doctor told Burt he was cleared to resume normal activities, Carole and Finn came over to stay for the weekend, as an introduction to being a family. Burt and Finn cautiously connected watching the Friday night football game, while Carole quietly read, pretending to ignore them. Finn seemed like a pretty good kid. The kid was friggin huge, but gentle as a teddy bear. Yeah, he could see why Kurt might be into a guy like him. Geeze, did he really just_ go _there?

Kurt flitted around Finn like a moth around a street lamp, unable to settle in one place. He set some nacho cheese dip on the table in front of the quarterback, sternly ordering Burt not to dare touch it, then sent Finn a dreamy smile. Finn thanked Kurt politely, following his mom's instructions to be nice to Kurt.

Hey kid, that's very cool. Burt was impressed that although Finn knew perfectly well that Kurt liked him, he was still nice to him. Finn and his dad completely ignored him, completely wrapped up in the football game so Kurt went to bed, knowing he would still be there in the morning. Burt made a run for the cheese dip as soon as Kurt left the room, but was disappointed to find Finn had already finished it. Damn, that kid could eat!

Finn slept on the couch that night, most of him hanging off it, looking like a giraffe in a hammock. Burt and Carole went to bed early too, though they weren't excessively tired. When Burt got up at his usual seven a.m. the next day, he found Kurt curled in the recliner watching Finn sleep. He bounced up self-consciously when his father came down the stairs and started making breakfast, both of them pretending his dad hadn't caught him drooling over Finn. Geeze, no wonder Finn was a little uncomfortable.

Finn groggily complained that he was sore from sleeping all crunched up like that, but he ate a ton of Kurt's special maple waffles eagerly enough. Carole stayed in bed and enjoyed breakfast in bed, brought to her on a tray by Burt, with some morning sugar to go with it. Both boys knew they were upstairs in Burt's bedroom, but neither dared to think about what they might be doing up there.

After everyone showered and dressed, they all drove out to Deer Creek Park, to 'enjoy the autumn colour', as Carole put it. Burt held hands with her as they strolled leisurely down the trails and Kurt tried to walk beside Finn, no doubt hoping for something similar. Finn kept lagging behind and speeding up to avoid him, then suddenly tore off to climb a tree, knowing that Kurt wasn't going to follow him there. Kurt seemed bemused by the big lug hanging out of a tree like a giant ape. Carole just shook her head at him and grinned at Burt, who shrugged helplessly. All of them knew that Finn was avoiding his son.

Burt rented a canoe, so he and Finn could go paddling on the river for a bit, while Carole and Kurt laid out their picnic lunch. Tres romantique, right? Nope, not even close. Finn tripped over his own feet and landed in their lunch. Kurt just shook his head fondly at his antics, while Finn apologized and looked sheepish, then proceeded to eat most of the surviving victuals.

They rented movies on the way home and continued their four way date into the evening. Finn ended up sprawled all over the couch again, passed out sleeping, leaving Kurt no option but to sit on a dining room chair or the floor, since Carole was romantically sharing the recliner on Burt's lap. Kurt watched his father kiss her once, huffed in exasperation and then retired to his bedroom again, the unsatisfying day turning out nothing like what he'd dreamed of.

_Kurt was so disappointed. Finn treated him like an annoying puppy. Was he a puppy? Oh god, he was all but panting at his feet …. He resolved to try harder to stop staring admiringly at the hunky quarterback and find concrete ways to make Finn understand how happy he could make him, as the perfect boyfriend. He could make all Finn's favourite foods, he could advise him about his unfortunate wardrobe choices, he could tutor him in Math and English, both terrible subjects for him. _

_God, he yearned to feel Finn's arms wrapped around him, keeping him safe from whatever threatened him, and maybe stand on his toes to kiss Finn's sideways smile. Prickles of excitement ran up his spine, just thinking about being held by such a big strong guy. He hadn't pictured exactly what might come after that, but he knew it would be romantic and loving._

Burt and Carole talked about the situation when they went to bed that night. Burt dearly wanted Carole to move in permanently but she was doubtful that the boys were going to get along, without enough bedrooms in either of their houses for both the boys to have their own room. Burt wheedled until she agreed they could all make do temporarily until they could buy a bigger house. Finn was going to have to share a room with Kurt, while they staged and painted her house, and then once they had a decent down payment from her place, they could move into a new one, while they worked on his house. Voila, in a couple of months they would be all set in a nice place with the maximum equity realized from what they had now.

Finn strongly resisted their plan, but there _were_ no other options. They already knew that he didn't fit on the couch. Carol tried to reassure him it would only be temporary, until he had his own room again

Oh my god, Kurt thought, vibrating with excitement. He and Finn were going to share a bedroom, sleeping only a few feet from each other! Kurt promptly redecorated his room in Finn's honour, trying to keep it masculine but stylish. Finn radiated resentment, and avoided their bedroom, as much as possible, hanging out over at Puck's day and night. Burt reassured Finn that he understood he was uncomfortable but it was only for as long as it took to sell their place. All four of them worked on Carole's house on the weekends, de-cluttering and painting it the neutral colours their in-house style co-ordinator had chosen. Kurt barely suppressed his comments on the cowboy wallpaper in Finn's room, out of sympathy.

Everything stayed very polite and understated between the two boys …until it didn't anymore. Kurt had been taking voice lessons for six years, and had learned to project his voice to the back of a hall, but Finn was always just naturally loud. One night, when Carole was at work, Burt heard the two of them arguing, yelling louder and louder. He got up wearily to defuse the tension again, but arrived just in time to hear the three letter "f" word come out of Finn's mouth. Burt's protective instincts kicked in and he booted Finn's ass to the curb. _Nobody_ talked to his kid like that in his own house, not even Carole's kid.

Things were ridiculously tense, so Carole and Finn moved back to their own half-redecorated house. Kurt was miserable, hurt by the one person he cared about most besides his father. Burt felt guilty at precipitating the blow-up, by not waiting until they had a new house to ask Carole and her son to move in. Carole felt awful that Finn had used a word she had tried to drill into him was incredibly offensive and Finn felt helpless to defend himself from being pursued. Man, the situation sucked, all around.

Then one day, the black cloud was magically gone, and the two boys were friends again. Kurt never told his dad the whole story, but said simply that he and Finn had apologised, and they were good now. Apparently Kurt had agreed to stop pursuing his future step brother and Finn had agreed to try to accept Kurt's sexuality, as long as his interest wasn't directed at him. The Hudsons moved in again, this time the boys maintaining a polite distance from each other with a negotiated list of arrangements to keep the peace in their shared bedroom

Over the next few weeks Burt was tickled to discover he and Finn shared a passion for a lot of the same things…cheese dip, cars, football, Carole, pickup trucks. They found lots to talk about, so on an impulse, he invited him to go to a monster truck rally with him, knowing his mother would just give him that 'what the _hell _are you thinking' look, if he'd asked her to go. He'd often gotten tickets from tire salesmen to those shows before and he had always wanted to go. He'd given away the tickets to his employees because he knew there was no way Kurt would enjoy a celebration of raw macho horsepower, but he figured Finn would love it.

The hurt on Kurt's face when he told him about it took his breath away. Burt suddenly lost his own enthusiasm for the show, as he walked slowly back to the parking lot to meet Finn. The quarterback knew right away something was off, which proved the kid wasn't as clueless as he sometimes seemed. Burt explained that Kurt was hurt at not being invited along. Finn just shrugged and told him to go fix it, there would be other rallies. He understood, because he felt the same way about sharing his mom, though he kept those feelings to himself.

Burt found his son on the stage belting out some song about being upstaged that blew his ever-loving mind. Who _was_ this kid? Kurt had grown into a young man that Burt couldn't believe was the same silent boy he'd raised from a frightened lost foundling. He did his best to reassure his son that he would always be his father, no matter what. He liked Finn, but it wasn't the same as him and Kurt. Finn didn't have the history they did, keeping each other breathing, when both of them had so desperately needed each other. Kurt was his son and he would always come first.

When Kurt hugged him, Burt felt the arms of the little boy he'd rescued wrap around him again, depending on him for his security. Burt whispered he would _always_ be there for him.

"I love you, dad." His son said, his words cutting straight to his heart.

"Love you too, son." They needed each other, and they had always recognized it. Its just that sometimes, it got buried under other stuff.

Burt expected things to go back to being relaxed and comfortable again but he could tell something was still eating Kurt. He seemed restless and tense, wandering the house at all hours of the night, and playing music endlessly as a distraction. Burt heard Finn and him talking earnestly, though they weren't arguing anymore. What was going on? Burt asked him what was bugging him, but as usual, Kurt said everything was fine, so he supposed he'd have to wait until his son was ready to talk to him.

Carole and he took another giant step toward matrimony when he officially popped the question in the same classroom he'd met her in. She said yes, when he presented her with the rock, acting as surprised as if she hadn't picked it out herself. Then they went to find their boys and share the good news that they were engaged now. They found Kurt first, who played along and acted surprised too, though Burt had already privately told him he was going to ask her. Finn felt his resentment growing at his mother being hijacked, unable to hide his feelings about sharing her.

Kurt already had their whole wedding preplanned before he even introduced them, so they let him go ahead and arrange it. God knows, Carole was stressed enough, working full time, and trying to ease her way into the Hummel's lives and their home . Burt wanted to get married as soon as possible, which meant, like _tomorrow! _They couldn't find a church available forthe next weekend, but Kurt did find one for two weeks after, and lined up everything else. He didn't tell anyone that each and every pastor assumed _he _was the bride. After that, he just said he was Carole Hudson's wedding planner to keep things simple, after the first church hung up on him when he told them he was the groom's son, assuming it was a prank.

Burt worried that planning the wedding was putting too much stress on Kurt. He wasn't sleeping or eating much, and looked even more pallid than usual. He insisted he had it all in the bag, even giving them dancing lessons. How did his son just _know_ all this stuff? Kurt pulled off the wedding without a hitch, of course. The bride and groom were delighted when their sons even danced together at the wedding, though Burt inconspicuously sniffed Finn's breath to see if he'd been drinking. Kurt assured him they had agreed to not drink at the wedding. Carole wasn't able to book the time off for a honeymoon on such short notice, so that would have to come later, but Burt was finally married to his dream girl. Life was coming up roses for Burt Hummel and Carole Hudson-Hummel.

Poor Kurt looked strung out, even after they cleaned up the rice and sent out the coordinated thank you cards. Then the next week the high school called to say he had cut school. Burt lied and said he forgot to call and tell them his son would be absent, but after he hung up he began to worry. Kurt had _never_ cut school before. What if he was sick or god, maybe he had collapsed from the stress. Burt texted him in a panic, asking if he was alright and emitted a sigh of relief when Kurt replied he was fine and that he'd only gone to check out another school they were competing against in Regionals.

Man, that was a relief. No big deal, right?

_Kurt watched the boy in the middle of the row of blazers sing directly to him, connecting directly to his heart with his music. Everything about Blaine and Dalton had come together like a perfect storm and his heart had responded like a bird taking flight. This boy was Kurt's teenaged dream, the perfect match to him, just as special, just as talented as he was. They were meant to be together, Kurt knew it from the very first moment. _

Kurt seemed ready to burst with excitement over dinner that night, like when he'd found his Christmas present and couldn't tell anybody. It didn't take long to figure out what he was so excited about. His conversation was all about how beautiful Dalton was with its non- confrontational safety policies and the really nice boys going there, especially _one_ in particular.

His name was Blaine. Hell, every other word was _Blaine_. He sang so well, and he looked so sharp in the uniform and he danced so smoothly, and he was so brave and he was this, and that and every other damn thing. The rest of them sat there and listened patiently while Kurt talked about Blaine for an hour, through dinner and desert and the clean up afterward. Finn was grinning at his plate with the realization that he had finally been superseded as Kurt's romantic love interest. Carole and Burt exchanged wary glances. It was obvious to everyone that a new boy had caught Kurt's eye.

_Kurt loved the old studio romantic musicals from the fifties and sixties, with actors like Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Fred Astaire where everyone was elegant and refined. The ladies swooned when the gallant gentlemen saved them from whatever imperiled them. They dressed impeccably and everyone had good manners and obeyed the social niceties as they used music to express themselves in song and dance. For some reason the restrained order and gentle progression to their relationships appealed to Kurt strongly. That was how he pictured finding his own soul mate one day. And now he'd found Blaine, who could easily have been cast in those movies, an amalgam of all of his heroes, elegant, refined, attractive and also incredibly musically talented._

From then on, Kurt was always smiling sappily at his phone, as he texted Blaine like a madman. Burt, for one, was _glad _that Blaine lived nearly two hours away. Texting he could live with, a real live boy holding Kurt's heart in his hands, not so much. As he watched him, Kurt's breathtaking smile suddenly bloomed across his face, making him look eerily like he was in love, as he stared entranced at his phone.

Oh no, no, no…. It was far too soon for that. Burt intended to make damn sure his sweet boy stayed sweet…and remained an innocent boy.

Three days later Kurt slammed in the front door and rushed down the stairs to his room, and then slammed that door too.

Oh oh! Now what the hell had happened? He said he wasn't hungry at supper time. Finn just shrugged his shoulders helplessly when Burt glared at him, saying he had no idea what might have upset him**.** Carole gave Burt a gimlet stare, implying he should 'go and _talk_ to his son'. That wasn't how they worked, he tried to tell her. He always waited until Kurt talked to him _first_. Her glare deepened and Burt sighed and went downstairs.

He was right, he was sorry to tell her afterward. Kurt wouldn't even let him in his room. He said through the door that he was fine, just really tired with a headache. That did sound a little off; Kurt seldom had headaches. Burt had asked him, hollering through the door, if he and Blaine had an argument or something, but he only got a disparaging muffled "Of _course_ not", in answer. The bottom line was, Kurt didn't want to talk yet and nothing would make him, if he wasn't ready. He should have made Stubborn his middle name, instead of Edward, Burt's father's name.

The next day the school secretary called to say his son had cut class again. Burt texted Kurt and he responded with only "I'm sorry dad. I wanted to talk to a friend about something." Yeah well, he and Kurt were going to have a serious talk too, if he was going to cut school regularly. He could live with him doing it once in a while, but twice in one week, no way. And why wouldn't he talk to his _father,_ if something was bothering him?

Burt got over his resentment when Kurt came straight to him that night to say. "Dad, a boy threatened to kill me today and I'm terrified to go back to school." The early days when Kurt had been afraid of someone out to get him, came back to haunt Burt. The idea that Kurt was suffering a flashback went through Burt's mind but flashbacks didn't have names. This boy did. Here they were, full circle, with Kurt again afraid to leave his father's side. He pried the whole story out of him and learned the Karofsky guy had been harassing Kurt for _months!_

"That is IT! I'm going to the school and I'm going to get this boy suspended. Nobody gets away with this stuff!" Burt stormed out the door and demanded a meeting with the principal.

A week later David Karofsky, the boy who had threatened his son, was back at school and Kurt was sick with fear again, afraid to even leave his room. All the anguish Burt had suffered when Kurt had been a traumatized little boy came back to haunt him. This was so wrong! Lima was supposed to be a safe place to raise kids.

He and Carole talked about what they could do to make Kurt feel safe again, and she was the one who came up with the idea to send Kurt to Dalton, where it was safe to be exactly whoever you were. Burt asked if she had totally lost her mind. They weren't rich by any means, even with their assets pooled.

She pulled out a folder with all the information she had already printed off their website. The rest of the school year there cost roughly the equivalent of Carole's new car. Holy freaking crap! She came to him and hugged him, and murmured that Kurt's safety was worth far more than her car, or their planned honeymoon in Hawaii, or anything else she could think of. She was sure they would never forgive themselves if anything happened to their sweet boy. Kurt only had a year and half left in high school before college. They could do it, if they took out a second on the house, and she would sell the car and drive a junker.

God, he loved that woman!

Burt had sent Finn over to spend the night at Puck's place to get a chance to talk to his son privately. He found Kurt's door shut, but he could hear the music playing softly, so he knew Kurt was awake. He knocked, and called him. "Kurt, I need to talk to you. It's important." A moment later the door opened, with Kurt silently watching him, his lips clamped tight, reluctant to talk about it anymore. He definitely wasn't expecting what he was going to say.

Burt watched his eyes widen to the size of saucers with disbelief when he told him he and Carole had decided to send him to Dalton to keep him safe. "Seriously, dad? But… tuition there costs an arm and a leg! How can you do that? Oh my god, are you_ sure_?" A note of hesitant excitement had crept into his voice, as if he hardly dared to hope it was true. The amazed excitement on his son's face was worth nearly bankrupting themselves, to his father. Kurt would be safe there, and that was all Burt had ever wanted for him.

Carole drove Kurt out to the new school the next morning, excitement and dread keeping him abnormally quiet. They got him two navy Blazers, a navy cardigan sweater, a red pullover sweater, his gym T-shirts and shorts (Kurt softly whimpered in dismay when he found out he had to take gym again. Years of feeling ugly, immature and inadequate, of hiding himself from anyone's view, of hiding from being caught watching any of _them_, was going to begin all over again) three pairs of slacks, five dress shirts, two stripy ties and the coordinated socks and the black oxfords they all wore. They signed all the paperwork, handed over the first month's tuition and then came home again, with Kurt feeling like he was dreaming the whole thing.

Burt sighed, when he saw the total for the uniform. Oh my lord, there was another twenty-five hundred down on the card. He had to say Kurt looked pretty sharp though, after he hemmed the slacks and reluctantly modelled the outfit for them. Kurt hated looking exactly like all the other boys in that staid conservative uniform, but he was willing to do anything to feel safe again.

Kurt went into McKinley late that afternoon to give the news to his Glee club, taking even his step-brother by surprise. Finn felt completely broadsided. Kurt was his brother now, surely he should have told _him_ first. Kurt apologized, his voice sounding brittle when he quietly said the decision had only been made late last night. He was still coming to terms with leaving everyone he knew to start all over in a strange place too, a feeling that felt uncomfortably familiar. He hoped to hell that it was the right decision. At least he hoped he would finally stop being shoved into lockers and getting slushy facials and death threats.

Kurt left for his new school very early the next day, on his hour-plus one-way commute. He texted Burt at noon, saying he was nearly overwhelmed with meeting fifty new classmates before lunch, but that Blaine had been very helpful showing him around and after class today he was going to try out for the Warblers, their Glee Club.

Burt hoped Blaine was making sure his boy felt comfortable, grateful Kurt knew somebody there. Kurt came home that night lugging every single text book he'd been issued, with a reading list and assignments coming out the ying-yang. Holy crap, what had he done to his son? Kurt just buckled down and got to work and Burt hardly saw him for the next two weeks, except for when he emerged to eat meals. Mercedes stopped by to see how he was doing but left after fifteen minutes, after seeing his workload. She felt terrible for Kurt, so she didn't tell him that Karofsky was bragging he had gotten rid of him, at McKinley.

For the next couple of weeks Kurt worked like a dog, from the time he came home until he went to bed. He reported to his parents that he was starting to feel like he fit in, although Dalton and the Warblers were far less freeform than McKinley and the New Directions, nearly military in governmental style. Kurt was appreciated by their Glee club for his contribution to the top of their harmonies, but as far as a lead in anything, he was out of luck. Blaine always got all of those. When Kurt was home the constant background buzz about Blaine started to settle down, though they still constantly texted each other. Burt was relieved. He could handle a _boy_ friend, a whole lot easier than a boyfriend.

Their first Christmas as a new blended family was very nice. The Hudmels, as the boys called themselves now, developed a few new traditions. Kurt was home for the two weeks of the holidays, but he had mountains of homework, compared to Finn's two or three hours. The only social thing Kurt did was to go to a sleepover at Rachel Berry's house, a girl Finn was dating now, probably because she and Mercedes were becoming closer in Kurt's absence.

Finn begged him to try to get some insight into Rachel's mind. Kurt just told him airily that he was probably better off _not_ knowing what Rachel was thinking. Their two boys watched a few Christmas movies together and the family all played Monopoly one night, with Carole cleaning up all the cash. It was awesome to feel like a real family, with a mom and pop and 2.3 kids, like average America. (Hah, Finn was big enough to qualify as 1.3, all by himself.) Burt figured it had been a long time coming but he was living the good life now.

Carole and he finally put an offer on the perfect house, and after Kurt and Finn okayed it too, they bought it. The new house came with a bigger mortgage but with the first and second on this one, the payments would end up low enough, so they could at least breathe between paychecks and work on the boy's college funds again. An unexpected bonus since Kurt had been at Dalton was his drastically curtailed shopping habit, though he wore three different outfits a day while he was home, just for the novelty of not wearing his uniform.

_Kurt went back to school after Christmas, hanging out with Blaine for every moment of his free time. He seemed completely oblivious to his growing feelings. Until now Kurt had always mocked everyone's over the top adulation to those they were crushing on, like he'd been immune to it. But he wasn't immune to Blaine, sure he was falling in love with him, but Blaine kept insisting that he just wanted to be his buddy. _

_It just wasn't fair. He'd finally found somebody who was a perfect match to him. Blaine was actually homosexual, attractive, extremely talented, then he insists he only wants to be his best friend. What did he have to do to get his attention? His pride precluded Kurt from wrapping his arms around Blaine's knees and begging him to go out with him, but it was awfully tempting when he and Blaine were doing their homework in the library, with Blaine's face beginning to show his incredibly masculine beard shadow. God, Kurt wanted to….god, he didn't _know _what he wanted to do, but he knew he wanted to do it with Blaine._

_Kurt knew he was far behind the other guys in development. He'd never yet needed to shave, his chest was smooth as a girl's, and his voice was stuck on soprano. But recently he had noticed a surge in hormones that were making him intensely aware of how attractive Blaine was. His own body was subtly changing, though mostly where people couldn't tell and his muscles were developing, from the gym class he hated taking. _

_Every morning now, he woke up reminded that he was definitely male, no matter what his voice sounded like. He had these incredibly powerful dreams, mostly featuring Blaine, that sometimes made him explode in his sleep. It was so frustrating that Blaine still thought of him as a helpless maiden in distress. He could only hope that eventually he would catch up with all the other boys, before the boy he wanted was snapped up by someone else. God, he dearly hoped Blaine would wait for him._

_Actually people at Dalton had sort of noticed him. Grayson Edison asked him out, but Kurt politely declined, saying he didn't really date. Blaine disbelievingly told him he must be nuts! Gray was a nice guy, he was attractive, and he had a nice car. Why wouldn't Kurt want to go out with him? How could Kurt explain he was only interested in dating Blaine, when he was being so incredibly stupid about it? He retorted by snarking back, why didn't Blaine go out with him himself, if he thought he was so hot? Blaine snarked back that he hadn't asked him out. Gray wanted to date Kurt, because he obviously wasn't blind. Whaaat? That almost sounded like…_

_Once, when he and Blaine were talking, he'd casually asked him whether he might like to top or bottom first, when he had sex. Oh my god! Kurt had childishly reacted with shock and horror, though actually he was more shocked that Blaine hadn't made the same assumption about him almost everyone else had. Sex to him seemed much too…well, exposed. There was nowhere to hide, with your emotions and your body nakedly exposed, risking your heart being eviscerated by the sharp edges of love. _

_He'd eventually mumbled to Blaine that he had no idea at all, collected his books and scurried back to his own room. Blaine must have assumed he'd scared him, when actually, Kurt was trying to work up the courage to expose his feelings to Blaine. He should have answered that he would probably bottom first, though the mechanics of sex did scare him a bit, bottoming sort of symbolized how he felt about making love in general, allowing another person into your heart and soul. And then he wanted to top, to symbolize his care and affection for Bla…. his partner._

Kurt learned Rachel was having a party on the following Saturday night, while he routinely read Finn's email to help keep up on what was going on at McKinley, since no one bothered to keep him in the loop. He casually mentioned he'd like to go, but Finn rudely told Kurt he wasn't invited. Kurt simply gained his cooperation by a little subtle blackmail, using his browser history listing numerous porn sites.

_Finn got him an invitation from Rachel for he and Blaine, even though she and Finn weren't together right now, their relationship drama going up and down, like a toilet seat. He could hardly wait to show off his leading man to the New Directions. He'd sort of missed them all too…well, some of them anyway. _

It was nice to see the gang again. They accepted Blaine as Kurt's friend, which was really sort of awesome. Rachel was typically bossy at first, making up stupid rules simply because she could. Then she had a drink and forgot all about everything but enjoying herself. The booze flowed like water from her dads' liquor cabinet after that. Blaine drank a beer or two…or three, and got very relaxed and goofy, impressed by Finn, who towered more than a foot over him, leaving Finn and Kurt the only ones still sober an hour later.

Kurt had a bad feeling about playing the 'spin the bottle' game, right from the beginning. Like who in that crowd would he want to kiss, besides Blaine? Even Finn was off limits now, as his brother. But due to the faint chance that miracles could happen, he stayed in with his fingers crossed. It severely burned seeing the boy he loved sucking on a girl's face…especially on his nemesis face, the kiss lasting much too long for Kurt's comfort. Thank god the game ended before he had his turn when Rachel decided she needed to sing a duet with Blaine. Oh god, that was even worse! Music was the only part of Blaine he got to share and now Rachel was going to steal that from him too.

The last thing Kurt wanted to see was a rom-com featuring Blaine and Rachel._ He_ was supposed to be his co-star, damn it! They sounded stupidly good together, Kurt was disgusted to hear, but then, Blaine sounded fabulous with everyone. The night lasted four more endless hours, with music and dancing liquefied by booze into couples making out everywhere. Blaine was still inexplicably vertical at the end of the night, stumbling around like a pinball, bumping off of the walls, a lightweight in the drinking department.

Good lord, what was he going to do with him? Blaine couldn't drive like that and Kurt couldn't drop him off at home, in the condition he was in or he'd never be allowed to hang out with Kurt again. And what about getting the rest of them home, surveying the wreckage of bodies around him.

Kurt received permission from Blaine's parents via texting on his phone, to stay overnight in Lima, because it was so late. He and Finn confiscated everyone's keys and worked out a plan to get them all home safely. Finn drove five people home, several people walked or staggered home, and Kurt dropped off Brit and Santana before he took Blaine back to his house where he tried to impress on him the importance of staying quiet, so they didn't wake his parents. Blaine nodded severely, then sprayed a 'schhhhhh' all over him through his finger. Oh good grief, you big enormous dork. Whatever…at least he got the idea he was supposed to be quiet.

Kurt unlocked the door and then parked Blaine against the wall while he slipped off his own boots. Kurt removed his shoes next, with Blaine giggling like a twelve year old girl, putting his hand over his mouth to keep quiet. Kurt wrapped his arm around his shoulder and tiptoed them up the stairs together to Kurt's room, only bumping off the doorway once, intending to keep an eye on the drunken sot in case he got sick or something.

Before he could get him situated, Blaine took one look at his bed, staggered toward it and fell face down, fully dressed. He inhaled contentedly, then snuggled into Kurt's pillow and passed out. Kurt sighed in discouragement. This was _not_ how he imagined it would go, having a man in his bed for the first time. He changed into his nicest pajamas in the bathroom, and got in the other side of the bed to see Blaine was smiling back at him vacantly, apparently passed out with his eyes still open. He captured Kurt's hand, snuggled it to his chest endearingly and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "so pretty", before his eyes rolled up and he suddenly checked out again.

Kurt gave in to the urge to run his fingers through Blaine's curls, while he was sleeping. He'd dreamed of doing it so many times, and he just couldn't resist tonight while he was unaware of what was going on, even if it was a bit creepy. They felt a little stiff from the gel, though Blaine had left them much looser than his usual severely slicked down style. Kurt watched him sleep for a full three minutes before he leaned over to kiss Blaine's mouth softly. Even though Blaine was unconscious, tasted like beer and Rachel's raspberry lip gloss, Kurt was still smiling to himself when he fell asleep.

God he was so pathetic.

Blaine's groan woke Kurt the next morning, trying to crawl under his pillow to avoid the morning light coming in his window, before he subsided again into slumber. Kurt would have stayed but he had to pee really badly, so he got up and then decided to finish the facial he had omitted the night before, while Blaine continued to sleep. Kurt had always found facials soothed him and today he really needed soothing.

Kurt replied to his father to say he was coming, after he'd called him to come down stairs, trying to keep his voice down to not disturb his sleeping guest, but he must not have heard him at all. His father impatiently walked in, and found Blaine still passed out in his bed, and then everything got very uncomfortable. It never occurred to Kurt that his father might assume that Blaine and he had …well, done _anything _but sleep. Didn't he know him at _all?_

Blaine had felt his way carefully to the bathroom after his father had left, his face scrunched up, taking fifteen minutes before he came back out. He must have found the Advil, and taken a quick shower because he was looking much better and his hair was wet and calmed back into submission. Kurt glumly offered to drop him off at his car, dressed by then. Blaine thanked him in a subdued voice, either from his hangover or from embarrassment and drove away.

_Later that day, Kurt's father told him he wasn't allowed to have any more sleepovers with boys. Kurt intensely resented his reaction. Did his father think he was suddenly going to turn into a skank? He wanted love and romance with Blaine, not meaningless sex with any random dude._

Burt was totally aghast at finding the infamous Blaine sleeping in Kurt's _bed_, suddenly struck that Kurt being gay meant he was going to be doing exactly that, sleeping with a boy. Maybe he couldn't stop it happening one day, but it sure as hell wouldn't happen in _his_ house, if he had any say about it… and he did, god damn it.

The two of them were all prickly at the uncomfortable situation, neither of them sure how to handle it. Kurt resentfully told his father he needed to educate himself about homosexual sex, if he was going to tell him what he could or couldn't do with boys. That hurt, because Burt knew he had avoided the subject for years, uncomfortable about the whole idea. Carole had always told him he and Kurt didn't talk enough about their issues, but he had sort of written that off as a woman's discuss-everything-to-death point of view. She might have been right. She usually was, he was learning.

Kurt's day went from bad to worse when Rachel asked Blaine out on a date and he accepted. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK! You are _gay,_ damn it, he reminded him, not even trying to hold in his bitterness. Blaine left in a pissy tantrum after saying he should be allowed to experiment. No he bloody wasn't, Kurt wanted to shout at his retreating back. If he wanted to experiment with relationships, Kurt was there, ready and impatiently waiting.

Both Burt and Kurt retreated to their own corners to regroup and then Kurt went back to Dalton on Monday, with a thunder cloud hanging over him and still not speaking to him. Burt closed his eyes to think about Kurt and Blaine messing around at school, where he had no say over what Kurt did and just _knew_ in his heart that his son hadn't yet crossed that bridge. Why was he overreacting like this? Was he was jealous of his son's feelings for Blaine?

Blaine went out with Rachel Friday night and had a lovely time. It took him the whole next day to figure out that a 'lovely time' was not the loving romantic relationship he yearned for, but maybe… He kissed Rachel again and definitively learned he was on the wrong track. He was gloriously gay. He just hadn't met the right guy yet.

Burt was at work, thinking about the fact that he and Kurt had spent their entire life together _not_ talking about stuff, until long past when they should have. That needed to stop. He had laid the ground work for that himself, and now Kurt probably believed that was how people should interact in relationships. Their relationship had survived because it was solid, but not all of Kurt's would, if he didn't learn to talk about the stuff that bugged him. Carole was slowly teaching Burt how to open up and talk to her, and now Burt had to find a way to teach Kurt the same thing.

Burt's ruminations were interrupted by a voice speaking to him. "Mr. Hummel?" Damn, it was that Blaine kid again. Burt tried not to react with antagonism. Kurt really liked this boy, so he must be something special.

The ballsy kid actually came there to ask him to give Kurt a sex talk! Not bloody likely!

Blaine reassured Burt, swearing he wasn't trying to score with his son. He was just altruistically worried about his friend. _Suuure_ he was.

Blaine explained Kurt wouldn't even discuss the subject. Well, that sounded like his son. And damn it, the kid was right. Kurt had already pursued Finn and now this kid, so it was time he learned about the natural conclusion to his attraction. It _was_ Burt's job to make sure Kurt knew about safe sex, which was particularly important for a homosexual man, and just as importantly, he needed to learn about safe romance… how to _not_ get his heart broken, or break someone else's. There were no guarantees for anyone, but at least if Kurt went into a relationship with his eyes open, he had a better chance of keeping his heart from being shattered.

It sounded like Blaine was finding his own way through the pitfalls of being gay, but he wanted to help Kurt through it, any way he could. Maybe he was more than just some kid who wanted to get into Kurt's pants. Burt knew his son seldom gave his trust to anyone who didn't deserve it, so… He was just going to have to do some research and get it done.

Burt Googled "homosexual sex education" and damn near burned his eyeballs out of his head, sorting the porn from the actual useful information. Gee Zuss Murphy, no wonder Kurt avoided the subject! He gave up, unable to stomach the graphic images and went to the local clinic for some pamphlets. Okay, the mechanics of sex were a little different for two guys, but really no matter how you went about it, sex is just another way to express love for someone. In the end he decided that Kurt could figure out the mechanics of sex himself, since it appeared that there was a wide variation of preferences for gay men. Most importantly, he wanted to educate his son on what sex should mean.

Kurt had unsurprisingly tried to scuttle away, but Burt sat him down and made him stick it out, while he tried to explain that sex was much more than just two people rubbing their private parts together, whether gay or straight. It was a way to connect with somebody. Burt could see Kurt would never ever have come to him to talk about this stuff, or gone looking for information, like Blaine had. He had to learn avoidance was not an effective method of problem solving in relationships or in any aspect of his life, for that matter.

Kurt had thought he was going to slide under the table any second dead of embarrassment. He and his father did _not_ talk about this stuff…at least not until today. Kurt had unavoidably picked up a vague understanding along the way from guys at Dalton who talked trash, bragging about what they were doing, but just couldn't picture himself doing any of that stuff with _anyone, _much less Blaine.

What no one understood was that it wasn't just the mechanics of sex Kurt was avoiding. It was the connecting part too. He had never let anyone all the way in, even his father. Sure Mercedes was his best friend, and she knew him pretty well, but not right down to his soul, the way he wanted to know Blaine. If they ever connected he would have to open up and let him in, to know his deepest secrets, starting with his body insecurities. He looked down at his pallid nearly asexual body and sighed hopelessly, doubting that Blaine might ever be interested in him, with the way he looked.

He knew he had abandonment issues too, from his earliest memories. His mother had died when he was young, but… Then why didn't he remember her better if he was seven years old when it happened? Was he in denial about that too? He loved his father dearly, but somehow he knew he was special, in a way his father wasn't. It was terrifying to contemplate laying his soul bare in a way that made him shake deep inside with fear, to have Blaine trample his feelings without even noticing him.

He was so confused. All he knew was that he was falling in love with Blaine. He didn't know how to make him understand that he wanted him as his boyfriend, not just a friend.

Then …the very thing Kurt was most afraid of happened. Blaine broke his heart into tiny shattered pieces, his feelings trampled into the dust under Blaine's feet. He had to sing back up with the Warblers, while Blaine sang a love song to some shaggy-haired unappreciative dweeb who ended up rejecting him. Kurt knew the kind of courage it took to lay your heart on the line like that, the kind he didn't have. Watching the man he loved being shot down had been painful, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been if the Gap dude had reciprocated Blaine's feelings, with Kurt helplessly watching.

Blaine had laid his feelings on the line, so if he wasn't going to lose his chance he had to do it too. They were waiting in line for their cup of coffee, when he finally screwed up his courage and came right out and said that he had hoped Blaine was going to serenade _him,_ because Kurt really cared about him. Blaine seemed to be taken by surprise at his confession, with Kurt firmly stuck in the friend zone. How incredibly dense can the boy _be_? He put Kurt off with some lame excuse about not wanting to screw up. Screw _what_ up? There was nothing to screw up. He just wasn't interested in him like that, was the sad truth.

Kurt was done with beating his head against the wall. His parents no longer had to pay thousands to keep him safe here at Dalton; Karofsky had transferred away so it was safe to go back to McKinley now. One more week until Regionals and he could go back to his friends and his family in Lima and let his battered heart slowly heal. His beloved canary dying was just the icing on the cake, proving he didn't belong there, but he couldn't face saying goodbye to all the boys there… to Blaine. Once again Kurt used music to say what he couldn't put into words, singing Blackbird as a goodbye to the Warblers and the boy he loved.

It was Kurt's heartfelt solo, that finally got through to Blaine. Why hadn't he thought of that before? Blaine spoke the same language he did, expressing his emotions most clearly in song. Kurt sang of his broken wings taking flight, and Blaine _heard_ him. He didn't know what he'd done until Blaine found him a couple hours later creating a suitable casket for the bird that had touched him with his cheerful songs, metaphorically burying his time at Dalton. Blaine found him and they finally connected.

Kurt responded instinctively when Blaine kissed him, falling into the kiss and letting it take them swirling into the sun. He wasn't frightened or overwhelmed or any of the things he had thought he might be. Blaine's eyes looked into his with wonder and _he_ seemed the one who was nearly overwhelmed. He mumbled something nearly incomprehensible about practicing, thinking that he didn't want to push things with Kurt too far right away. Kurt smiled and teasingly said he thought they _were _practicing. Blaine immediately kissed him again, understanding then that Kurt wasn't frightened or reluctant to go where they were headed.

Kurt decided the casket was adequate enough for the bird after just a few more minutes because keeping Blaine waiting right now was nothing short of stupid. Blaine patiently helped him finish and clean up the beads and sequins, then he'd taken his hand and led him to an empty lounge, quickly darting around anyone in their way, a man on a mission.

They spent the next hour on a couch, exploring all the different ways there were to connect with their lips. Blaine's hands were burrowing under the sweater Kurt wore over his oxford shirt, rubbing his back and across his shoulders as if he couldn't believe he was really there. Blaine's blazer landed on the floor, enabling Kurt to run his hands over his chest and down his back, constantly moving them to memorize the way he felt. God, he loved kissing Blaine!

They were tangled together so they could both feel how the other was affected by their proximity. Kurt didn't care. They were both guys, so they both knew what would happen while they made out. There were layers upon layers of wonderful feelings, and only one of them was in his pants. It was his heart that was worrying him most He felt like he had fallen through the ice when they kissed and discovered there was a whole world of sensations he'd never suspected existed. He was completely at the mercy of his body, sweating and panting, his heart banging in his chest and oh my god, he wanted to stick his tongue down Blaine's throat while he groped his whole body.

They were rudely interrupted by Blaine's phone ringing, asking if they were coming to the Warbler's practice or _not?_ They knew the question wasn't rhetorical so they reluctantly went back downstairs. They were singing lead in Regionals, so the rest of the Warblers would cheerfully come find them and drag their asses down to practice, if they had to.

Just before Blaine pushed open the double doors, he stopped and turned to Kurt hesitantly. "Can we be boyfriends now?" He seemed to really think he had to ask. Kurt nodded eagerly with a smile. Oh hell, _yes_, they could. Blaine grinned and came in for another quick kiss. Then he pushed open the doors and they went in.

The Warblers' lead duet were stuck singing the song Blaine'd chosen, before things changed between them. 'Candles' was the polar opposite of their current feelings, but the council refused to let them change it again at this late date. Neither of them was into a breakup song anymore, so maybe it wasn't as good a performance as something closer to what they actually felt would have been, but it _was_ their first performance duet together.

The whole Regionals competition was being televised on the Ohio state local channel, so with thousands of people watching, Kurt's nerves were tied into knots, which was highly unusual for him. His voice wasn't as smooth as it usually was, but seriously, neither of them really cared much when they only got second at Regionals. They had each other now.

A man, a bounty hunter for hire, was channel flicking aimlessly and landed on two boys singing in some competition. One of them looked strangely familiar. He pulled out the dog-eared photo he'd carried for years of the little boy and the computer generated picture beside it, accelerating his growth to the present time. It was the spitting image of the boy on the screen, except for the hair lying on his forehead. It was _him,_ right there in Cincinnati, less than a mile away. Kiert was alive and well and apparently attending Dalton Academy for Boys! He used his cell phone to call the number he had never used before, to collect the bounty for sighting him.

He received instructions to go to where the competition was taking place and track the boy back to his residence. If he could find his home, he would get double the reward. If he could capture him and bring him in, he would get ten times the original bounty. The man promptly went to the Cincinnati Conference Centre and located the Show Choir Regionals performance stage, with twelve busses still lined up outside, hoping to collect the substantial bounty for actually capturing the boy. Dalton Academy for Boys very helpfully had their own bus, with their name conveniently labelled on it to set it apart from all the similar yellow school busses the other kids used. It was laughably easy to follow them back to the school. Now he just had to wait for a chance to grab him.

On the way back to school, the two boys sat together at the back of bus with their arms around the other whispering and occasionally sneaking a kiss from each other, the other boys considerately ignoring them while they critically autopsied the Warblers' losing performance. Most of them tried not to hold a grudge against them for having other priorities than the music, glad those two had finally got their act together. They _had_ asked to change the song choice, after all.

No one noticed the black SUV following the bus back to Dalton. It drove past when the bus turned into the gates, and pulled over to the side of the road, with the lights off. The door cracked open and a wedge of light lit the road. Feet crunched on the gravel and the light disappeared again with the chunk sound of the door closing. The man with the binoculars had scanned window after window and finally caught the one he wanted just as Kurt turned away from the boy always hovering around him. He had finally tracked him down, after thirteen years of ceaseless searching.

Kurt caught Blaine as they left the Warblers, pulled him into a window alcove and administered a real lip burner, so he wouldn't forget him over night. Blaine looked a bit shell shocked, since he seemed unable to talk just then. "I'll see you tomorrow, Blaine. Call me tomorrow morning and we'll talk about the weekend. I want to take you out on a real date Saturday. Dinner and a movie?" Kurt asked lightly, already knowing Blaine's answer. Blaine nodded dumbly and turned to wander down the aisle with a smile permanently stamped on his face. Kurt watched him walk away and hoisted his book bag over his shoulder, prepared to leave for home.

The man with the binoculars had scanned window after window and finally caught the one he wanted just as Kurt turned away from the boy always hovering around him. He was _here!_

A few of the Warblers had mixed feelings about the two boys getting together, for various reasons. Grayson was sad that Kurt wouldn't give him a chance, and Sebastian wanted some of Blaine's ass. Jeff wasn't interested in that way, in either of them, but something about Kurt made him wonder if he might be one of his people. He'd felt an immediate affinity with Kurt, from the first moment he'd snuck in to Dalton, to watch the Warblers perform, but before he was able to confirm his suspicions, Blaine and the council had pounced on Kurt and whisked him away to the junior commons. He'd casually asked Blaine afterward where the spy lived, intending to look him up. Blaine just shrugged carelessly and said he was just a gay kid from Lima, with a suspicious glance at him.

Before Jeff had a chance to track him down, Kurt had conveniently appeared at Dalton again, this time enrolled as a student. Jeff still wasn't sure of his instincts, so he sat beside Kurt one day and mentioned he was going 'up North, to visit with his extended family', he'd waited fruitlessly for some sign of recognition from him. Kurt had merely smiled politely and wished him a good visit, never even inquiring why his relatives lived so far away.

Jeff was attending Dalton because his parents wanted to ensure he concentrated on his studies. He intended to graduate at the top of his class, and then attend MIT to get the best training in software development possible to allow him to best serve his people before he was bonded to a girl he had his eyes on. Like most of his people, he was musically talented, so singing with the Warblers was a personal indulgence he allowed himself. He was there to work hard, but there was no reason he couldn't have fun with his friends too.

Jeff still hadn't ruled Kurt out as kin, so he decided to bide his time and keep an eye on him. During the Christmas break at home with his family, Jeff overheard a political discussion between his relatives about the ruling family, wondering whether there really _was_ an heir to the current queen, as she insisted. His father asserted that the boy would be grown, Jeff's age now, so it was time to produce him to reassure their people she was telling the truth. If he didn't actually exist, there would be trouble brewing soon. Hmmm. Could Kurt really be the missing heir, kept under wraps all this time to keep him safe?

Everything fit, but Jeff kept his suspicions to himself, keeping an even closer eye on Kurt. When Kurt and Blaine got together romantically, he nearly wrote them off, because royalty wouldn't just hook up that way, until they were ready to bond permanently. Then again, he had wondered about Blaine sometimes too, until he talked about his parents and their easily checkable family connections. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, hoping to find kin, feeling so alone and far away from his people.

He intended to keep an eye on both of them, until he was sure.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: In this chapter we learn Kurt's background, and learn the real reason why he never felt like he fit in. How will he survive this frightening development?**

* * *

**Chapter 4 The Net is Closing In**

His target was always surrounded by a crowd of other goddamned boys. There was one that never left his side, always hanging around him, and the way they were looking at each other….damn it, he was never going to get him alone! The dark haired boy turned to speak to Kiert, but one of the others blocked the view. Maybe he might have to get rid of him before he could grab the one he wanted. Either way, his orders were to take him in, the second they caught him alone. He'd brought along a pal to help him take him down and they were going to track him, until they got their chance. Even half that bounty was enough to keep him living in luxury for a good long while, and if his acquaintance suffered a fatal accident before they collected it, well, too bad for him.

Kurt absolutely loved having Blaine buzzing all around him like a bee near the honey pot. He smirked proudly, impressed at the power he seemed to hold over Blaine, a brand new feeling he hoped would last for a while. He revelled in his boyfriend being all sweet and considerate and mmhm, those topaz eyes promised more kisses at their first opportunity. PDA in the public areas was strictly against Dalton rules, so for now they had to settle for staying close to each other, and occasionally touching hands. Kurt wanted more of those kisses with Blaine too and made his own promises, looking coyly into Blaine's eyes.

Wes huffed, exasperated at their lack of attention. "God, would you two lay _off! _Love is grand and we're all happy Blaine finally got his ass moving and you two finally got together, but we have important stuff to decide here. Now Blaine, I want you to move over here, to the other side of the room. Your brains fall out every time Kurt looks at you."

Blaine blushed adorably and sheepishly went over to sit beside Thad, giving his new boyfriend a mournful puppy look. Kurt merely looked innocent, something he had spent years perfecting at home with his father. Funny, it didn't seem to fool these guys either.

Everyone went back to their interminable discussion over what to sing and what they should do while they sang it. Kurt tuned out again and admired Blaine's thigh crossed over his knee, displaying his leg to him. Blaine grinned back at him, his eyebrows going up into points, fully aware of his admiration. Both of them were thinking about their date Saturday and where that might lead them.

"Okay then, are we agreed? Show of hands, please." Both boys raised their arms, having no idea what they were agreeing to, but grateful to finally have some kind of resolution. The raised arms were formally counted and put down in the Warbler's minutes, and then they were dismissed, with the hope they enjoyed their weekend. Thank god, Friday night was finally here!

As the boys all filed out, Kurt and Blaine immediately rejoining each other, loitering until they were last. Blaine took his hand again, taking advantage of their momentary solitude. "Why don't you go home late tonight, and we'll go out for something to eat tonight? I don't want you to leave me yet." Blaine clasped Kurt's hand tighter, and did his best to look pitiful, hoping to sway his boyfriend to stay at Dalton with him for a bit. Soon the place would be nearly deserted and they could relax in their civies in Kurt's room or his for a bit, and hopefully get something going on.

"Blaine, you _know_ Friday dinner is always ready at six, just waiting for me to come in the door. I have to go, so give me a kiss to keep me warm till tomorrow." Kurt leaned toward him, wrapping his arms around his waist, keeping a wary eye out for teachers. They were still in the hallways, which were still officially public areas, so they knew perfectly well they were breaking the rules.

Blaine grinned, conceding that Kurt had to leave, then broke away, grabbing Kurt's hand to pull him into one of the big window enclosures with their floor length velour draperies. He deked behind one panel and pulled Kurt in with him, where they shared a warm toe-curling goodbye kiss that made Blaine whimper unintentionally. My lord, kissing Kurt melted him from the inside out. He'd kissed a few other guys, but with Kurt it felt different, so much more intense, like he was drugged insensible. Being in crazy in love with Kurt made all the difference.

He pulled away from the kiss and saw Kurt's eyes open with that dreamy look in them he loved. They both grinned again, still not used to being together. Why had they wasted so much time? Oh…yeah. Him, being stupid and stubborn, pretending he didn't feel this way about the gorgeous countertenor when he should have just given in three days after he met him and begged Kurt to let him be his boyfriend. He spent all that time stupidly trying to convince himself that being Kurt's mentor was his role. God, how lame was that?

Kurt scrunched his nose, reluctant to part from the boy who made his heart race, without even trying. "I really have to go now Blaine. If you don't, I'm going to have to tell my dad why I was so late." Kurt threatened Blaine with his teddy bear papa, who Blaine knew was completely harmless ...well, he sure hoped so.

Blaine was actually quite impressed with Burt's protective instincts, compared to his own father's apathy toward him. He reluctantly released Kurt, who let his hand slide down his arm and off his hand as he left, then walked away quickly, with one quick glance back to him before he was out of sight.

Blaine went up to his room and packed his bag to go home for the weekend too, mostly thinking about seeing Kurt tomorrow for their first real date. He changed from his uniform to jeans and runners with a knitted vest over his button down and tied the bow tie in front of the mirror. Then he grabbed his bag and left for the parking lot to drive home, stopping short in surprise when he saw Kurt's Nav was still there.

That was strange. He'd had a pretty good head start on him. Kurt always packed the night before, to allow him to leave right after practice and usually wore his uniform to drive home. He should have left already ten or fifteen minutes ago. Blaine went to his car and his heart lurched, dropping through the ground, when he saw Kurt's bag in was in it, but he wasn't around anywhere. His phone was lying on the vehicle's floor, the AUX cable hanging from the dash, and his jacket was crumpled on the seat. When he looked around, Blaine saw one shoe lying on the pavement… one of Kurt's black Ghia oxfords. Holy crap! What had happened to him?

Jeff was standing at his window wistfully looking out at everyone going home for the weekend, when he saw Kurt head for his car. He wished he could visit his family every weekend, but he had much father to travel than Kurt, so he only managed to get home a few times a year. His eyes widened in shock, when he saw a black SUV tear up beside Kurt's vehicle and two men dressed in black clothes and toques race to Kurt's Nav and overpower him by throwing a blanket over his head. One of the men wrapped his arms around him while the other restrained his hands behind him, then heaved him over his shoulder to throw him in the back of the vehicle. He slammed the rear hatch and in under two minutes they were tearing out of the lot again.

Jeff knew now that Kurt _must _be the missing heir, hiding in plain sight at Dalton. He made a quick phone call home, and his parents called in the cavalry. He hoped to hell they could find Kurt before something terrible happened, wishing he'd known earlier that Kurt might have been in danger.

Blaine looked around the parking lot in a panic, seeing no one nearby. Friday nights the place emptied in minutes. He ran back to his car and dialled 911, sure his boyfriend was in some kind of trouble. He slammed the door, shot the car into gear and went tearing out the driveway and down the road, hitting sixty, seventy and eighty miles an hour and still accelerating. He had to find Kurt before something awful happened.

The operator distantly asked him what his emergency was. Blaine tried disjointedly to explain the situation, but since there was nobody injured, no fire or auto accident, the woman said there was no proof of an emergency. She told him to verify that Kurt was actually missing and then call the regular detachment to follow up Blaine hung up, nearly sobbing with distress and called the only other person he could think of who might actually do something.

Burt answered on the second ring, recognizing Blaine's name on his caller's list, since his son had called Blaine from his phone once. "Hey Blaine. What did he forget this time?" Burt chuckled, thinking Kurt had barely left school, so what could be that urgent?

"Kurt…he was supposed to leave, but his car is here...and his shoe… it's lying on the ground. His phone is in the car and Burt… I'm _so_ scared something really bad happened to him."

The terror in Blaine's voice made Burt's blood run cold. "Where are you now Blaine?" He asked, his voice deceptively cool and calm.

"I'm on the highway, looking for whoever must have grabbed him." Blaine had already passed several vehicles, but they held only single drivers, or old people, people he didn't know and didn't give a damn about. There was no sign of Kurt yet. He passed a gravel truck that had blocked his view and saw a vehicle far ahead that caught his attention. It was a black SUV with dark tinted windows and it was moving pretty fast. "Burt, there's an SUV, black with blacked out windows. Its way ahead, but I'm going to try to catch it. I'm going to set the phone down so I have both hands to drive, okay?"

Burt's heart took a dive, when he realized that Blaine was probably rocketing down the highway doing twice the speed limit. He called out to Blaine to be careful, as he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. Carole was staring at him, listening to his half of the mystifying conversation, something in Burt's voice making her heart rate accelerate.

"I'm on my way, buddy. Keep talking to me, but only when you can do it safely." He turned back to shout to Carole on the way out. "Feed Finn. I'll let you know what's happening when I know more." And then he was gone, his pickup accelerating down the street faster than she'd ever heard it before.

Burt's heart was pounding. He could feel his blood pressure rising with the adrenalin pouring into his system. He took a slow breath, aware that he needed to be careful. His medication kept him from fibrillating, but there was always a chance that too much stress might set him off again. He exhaled and tried consciously to relax, even as he raced toward his son's best friend. Blaine was terrified, that was obvious. If Burt didn't clearly remember a frightened little boy petrified that someone was hunting him, he wouldn't be half so worried right now.

Blaine was driving at eighty five miles an hour in a fifty five. He had excellent reflexes and was the reigning god at driving digitally but reality was a hell of a lot scarier. If he crashed, he was dead: it was as simple as that. His boyfriend needed him to stay alive, so he let off the gas a bit, and felt the vehicle slow slightly to eighty. He was still gaining on the SUV who must have been trying to avoid attention, passing all the other cars in his way easily until he came to a minivan driving sixty behind a delivery van, with the oncoming traffic blocking his path to pass. Blaine braked and slowed, muttering curses at the dolt who was ignoring the vehicle on his bumper. Blaine leaned on the horn and watched the person jerk their eyes to their rear-view mirror in surprise. Instead of speeding up, he slowed even more, making room for Blaine to pass him.

As soon as oncoming traffic cleared, Blaine stomped on the gas to pass the obstacles in his way and tore off down the highway, having lost half his gain in distance. So far, the black vehicle had maintained a steady speed, probably about sixty five miles an hour, so Blaine figured he would catch him eventually. A squawking came from the seat beside him and he remembered Burt was on the other end of the phone. He picked it up and apologized, then told Burt where he was now. He was still too far away to read the license plate, but he could tell the SUV had an Ohio plate. Burt said he was on the same highway approaching from the other end, so they should catch him in a vice.

Kurt was in the back of the vehicle on his belly with a blindfold over his eyes and his hands restrained behind him, with something that had no give in it at all, cutting into his wrists. No one would answer his questions, after he had been manhandled into the vehicle beside his. What was going on? What did they want from him? He had a sinking feeling that this was a very, very bad situation. Too many nighmares of being hunted were making him so frightened that he was very glad he had used the washroom right before he left. His stomach was queasy with nerves, and he was afraid he would throw up any minute. He closed his eyes and barely kept himself from wailing to his Dad. "Daddy, I need you!"

His father was too far away. No one knew where he was or where these people were taking him. He was completely on his own. Thank god, Blaine hadn't come with him, safe back at school. Somehow, the idea that Blaine was safe, made him feel much better. He laid his head down and tried to listen closely to whatever he could hear.

"There's a car tailing us and he's gaining on us." A low voice said a few minutes later, from the front of the vehicle. Somehow Kurt knew it must be Blaine, trying to catch them, his knight in armour trying to rescue him. Who else could it be? He was torn by wishing Blaine could catch them and the certainty that Blaine would suffer the same fate he did, if he caught up with them.

"I can't ditch him until we hit the interstate. Keep an eye on him." Another voice said calmly.

Oh my god, they were headed for the interstate! Where were they taking him? Why did they want him? He was just an average kid from Ohio. His father wasn't rich, and nobody cared about him but his family and Blaine. Endless moments passed where Kurt strained to hear anything that would tell him what was happening. He heard the beeping of a cell phone and used his elbows to feel his own pockets. His phone was gone. Oh god... He was in the act of plugging it in, when his door had suddenly been yanked opened and they had hauled him out of the Nav.

The voice he was waiting to hear never started speaking, so he must have been texting someone.

Blaine had made up all the ground he had lost and more. He was only three hundred feet behind the other vehicle now and still closing. He saw a green sign whip past in a blur and guessed they were nearing the interstate. He looked around in the deepening dusk. Yes, he could see the restaurant signs standing up way above the road, from near the exit. God, if this guy hit the interstate, he was screwed. His car only had a six in it, and the SUV was a big eight. He could hit a hundred and twenty five, no problem, while Blaine's car was running flat out at ninety five.

Blaine checked with Burt, who said he was almost at the interstate too. If he could catch them before they got on, he could block their access to the highway. Blaine saw the vehicle brake, and his blinker flash, preparing to turn onto the northbound ramp. He relayed the information to Burt who merely grunted wordlessly at him. He heard a roar from the other end of the phone and then saw a spray of gravel fly into the air in a move that Blaine would have been speechless at seeing, any other time. He whooped with happiness when the dust settled and he saw Burt's truck blocking the on-ramp. Ten seconds later he was behind the SUV, blocking it in a vise between them, just like countless movies he'd seen. Unfortunately, the next scene usually involved police with guns apprehending the bad guys. He waited and so did Burt, but no one emerged from the vehicle for long minutes.

Blaine opened his door and warily came alongside the SUV to peer in the back, but couldn't see much in the deepening evening gloom. Then, the side door suddenly whipped open and a gun was shoved up under his chin. His eyes widened in breathless surprise. He gulped audibly and slowly and carefully raised his hands.

"Get in the car." A dark shadow of a man dressed in black, with a low voice ordered him inside.

Burt saw Blaine approach the car and then his arms slowly rose, the open door blocking the rest of his view, but he could easily guess what was going on. Crap, now they had both boys! No way was he sitting here and letting them drive off with his son, and his best friend. Burt opened his door, raised his hands and slowly approached. "I'm going along with you too." He announced loudly.

A voice muttered from inside the car. "God _damn_ it. Are we having a fucking tea party here, or what? All right then." Blaine watched the driver door open and another man with a gun motioned Burt to the other side of the car. Their captives now outnumbered the captors. Both men were slight, and wiry, and dressed in dark clothing with toques on…just like the villains in the action movies.

All sorts of scenarios were running through Burt's mind. Were they drug dealers, or government goons, or some kind of crime family? What did they want with his son? Had he gotten mixed into something scary at Dalton? Blaine seemed just as mystified as he was, Burt could tell. Oh god, did this have something to do with the fact that he'd stolen Kurt from whoever had him before?

Kurt heard tires screeching and felt their vehicle swerve to a stop, rolling around from side to side, buffeted by the fast deceleration. First one side and then the other side door opened and a voice said "Get in the car." Before people got in the vehicle._ Something_ had happened. Had the chase vehicle caught up and the driver been captured? "Blaine?" He ventured doubtfully, hoping he wouldn't hear his familiar voice.

Blaine heard the voice he had been afraid he would never hear again, and turned around with joy on his face. "Kurt, are you alright?" He saw Kurt lying on his side blindfolded and tied up, and his heart sank again. This was some _serious_ shit going on here.

"Kurt, do you have any idea of what's going on here?" Burt asked his son, at nearly the same time.

Kurt couldn't help the surge of joy, and then the sinking horror, at his father's presence. "DAD! What are _you_ doing here?" How had Blaine and his father found him? He didn't care. He just knew that he felt tons better knowing his father and his boyfriend were with him, though he was scared to death for them. "No, I have no idea what's happening."

Blaine and Burt were both blindfolded too and bound with a zip band that felt strong enough to restrain a horse.

"What do you want my son for?" Burt asked anyway, figuring he didn't have much to lose. He was wrong.

"He isn't _your_ son now, is he?" That was the answer Burt dreaded hearing most. Holy crap! They knew about him kidnapping Kurt! They had to be the people chasing him when he was little and oh my god, they were still chasing him all these years later! He heard one of their captors emerge to move their vehicles to the side of the road so they could enter the interstate and then felt the car accelerate to highway speed.

Blaine was still mystified by their captors. "You must have the wrong guy. Kurt _is _Burt's son. Let us go and we won't tell anyone about this." Blaine asserted, lying bravely. Of course, he would turn them in so fast, they wouldn't ever see the light after the prison door slammed behind them. No one even bothered answering him, behaving as if they hadn't even heard him.

"You'll find out soon enough what's gonna happen. Now button it for a while and let me drive or we'll pull over somewhere and shut you up permanently." A terse voice ordered. They didn't get any more answers. Time passed, though it was hard to tell how much after it got completely dark. After a bit, Burt slowly edged over and leaned against Blaine, shivering in a constant quivering vibration that told Burt how frightened he was, though it didn't stop him from trying to comfort Kurt.

"Kurt, you're gonna be fine. We'll get you out of this. Just hang in there." Burt gave him a nudge of appreciation for trying, even if he sincerely doubted that things were going to be fine. Three of them against two guns were not good odds, even if he didn't take into consideration that two were just kids and he was a creaky old guy who knew his way around a car, but guns and he were never comfortable friends.

"Blaine, are you all right? Is Dad okay? Don't do anything stupid, please." Kurt responded anxiously.

"We're good Kurt. I'm just happy we found you." Burt said to comfort him, but he suspected this wasn't going to end well. Geeze, Blaine and Kurt were just kids. They didn't deserve whatever these dirt bags were planning. He did his best to stay calm, planning to make his move if the opportunity came up.

Hours later they pulled off the interstate and they heard the sound of gasoline being pumped into the tank. Was this his chance, Burt wondered?

"I'm holding a gun on all of you right now, in case you were thinking of trying anything." An amused voice drawled to them informatively. That effectively put a stop to any thoughts of escaping. Moments later they pulled out of the gas station and back onto the interstate, but only for about twenty minutes. They felt the car slow then turn onto a rough road, which soon turned into an even rougher road. Another turn took them onto what felt like a deer track. Then they pulled to a slow rolling stop to the sound of crunching tires.

They heard the car door open and the groaning stretch of the passenger-side captor. "Sit tight. I have to find out what he wants us to do with you."

This was it. Now they were going to find out what the hell was going on. Burt had a feeling they weren't going to like it much. "Kurt? I love you son." Burt said the words quietly, but knew his son heard him, when he answered him. "I love you too dad. No matter what happens, remember that, okay?"

"Stop it! It sounds like you're saying goodbye." Blaine objected. "I want to get old with Kurt, so we are a long way from goodbye." Burt gave a snort, thinking Blaine had already gone a long, long way, from 'we're just friends', a few weeks ago. When the hell had_ this_ happened, and why hadn't Kurt told him about it?

"Saying goodbye actually might not be such a bad idea." The voice of the other man added to the conversation, sounding serious. It was a pity about the other boy and the old man, but it was their own damn fault for tagging them. He would be glad to get out of this vehicle. It had been a whole day since he'd stood up for more than a few minutes at a time.

The first captor came back and motioned with his gun toward the house to tell his buddy the plan. He opened the door and tried to pull Burt out. "Move, old man." He growled, his patience near an end with Burt's stiff muscles. He wanted to get this over with. It wasn't his favourite part of the job, but they wouldn't get paid if they didn't take out the trash.

The other man opened the hatch and pulled on Kurt to get him to stand upright. His legs were numb and his hands had lost feeling ages ago. He stumbled, nearly falling and was hauled upright roughly by the man with the gun. "Okay, walk kid, this way." he said gruffly. They were marched up a rough stone path to some steps, hearing sticks and leaves crunching under their feet. "Okay, up three steps and then up the porch to the door. I'll open it for you."

They obeyed, and heard the echoing sound of their footsteps on wooden porch boards. The door creaked opened and they went into an overheated room. They could smell wood smoke while they were herded toward the source of the heat. The men stopped and waited for orders, with a gun jabbed into Burt and Blaine's ribs.

They heard the creak of a chair and then someone coming closer, the shuffle of their steps soft but audible. "So, Kiert, we meet again. You've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you. You were just a toddler then. Here you are, as tall as your father…your _real_ father, not this imposter. You've given me quite a lot of trouble, Mr. Hummel. I am very annoyed at you for keeping Kiert out of circulation for so long. We almost had him, and then he was gone…slipped away to safety. But he's mine _now."_

Burt heard the voice chuckle happily. Oh, man this didn't sound good at all.

"Who are you and why do you want Kurt?" Blaine asked, confused by what was going on. He was still convinced they had the wrong guy. Burt _was_ Kurt's real father…wasn't he?

"I'm the _next_ king, that's who I am. I'm closing in on Kiala, and once she and Kiert are gone, then there's no one left standing between the Sapphire Throne and me." He chuckled at his plan finally coming to fruition, and then sat down again to survey his captives. It wasn't any more trouble to eliminate three than it was to get rid of one, so they could all go to their deaths together.

"The Sapphire Throne? What the hell is that?" Blaine asked, feeling like he had missed a few critical chapters in the book. He'd never even heard of the Sapphire Throne. It sounded like something out of a Dungeons and Dragons game.

"Shall I tell you all about it, my pretty boy? Oh, why not! I like a good tale. For your information, Homo Sapiens aren't the only humanoids inhabiting Earth, and they never have been. How egotistical you humans are! We're Homo Elvia, and we're as higher evolved over Sapiens as Sapiens are over Neanderthals, who aren't quite wiped out yet either, contrary to your accepted theories. We've just learned to coexist right under your noses, using the same technology and resources the government uses to hide in plain sight. We have our own culture and settlements, that on the surface might appear to be human, but they're not.

Now….once upon a time there was a king named Kiso and his queen, Kiala, who were the reigning monarchs in a long line of weak innocuous rulers on the Sapphire Throne of the Northern Navial branch of the Eldari people, one of the six main Elven clans. The queen had a lovely daughter, Kyria who married an upstart Southern Sylvan Eldari prince named Dari instead of the wise advisor who would have made a _much_ better husband and future king. Their infant son was supposed to be the hope of a new alliance between both kingdoms and meld them back into one people… but many of the Sylvan elves didn't want an alliance that put most of the power on the Sapphire Throne."

"Kiso and Dari hosted a summit on neutral ground to smooth the discord and unfortunately, did not survive the dangers of the journey. Kyria wisely took her son and went underground, in hiding while her mother tried to hold her kingdom together through the upheaval that followed. That Kiala is a _stubborn_ woman, do you know that? We've almost had her ten times, but every time she manages to elude us. We will eventually get her though, and hopefully soon. We have a very good lead on her right now." The man's voice had sounded extremely excited for a moment, then smoothed back into the soothing voice of a storyteller.

"We did eventually track Kyria and her son though a message we intercepted from the family of one of her guards, travelling through some backwater Alaskan town. She must have guessed we were closing in because she sent her son away with one of her trusted body guards and drew us away, to give them a chance to escape. She unfortunately died in the snow barrens, giving him that chance. We captured the guard too, but he didn't have the child anymore and he declined to tell us what he did with him…unfortunately for him. We searched that whole area for weeks, did you know that, Hummel? We never found any trace of the boy."

"I hoped the child had died, frozen to death in a snow bank in that god forsaken hell hole, but we looked for his body everywhere and never found it. But _you_ found him, didn't you, Hummel? You ended up with him somehow, and then left town right afterward. You brought him here and you raised him right out in the open, as your own son. Do you even know yet who you raised in your dumpy suburban house? You can't outrun destiny, Hummel. The boy needs to die and I'm afraid you and his little friend are going with him."

The man's voice was deceptively calm and even, as if he wasn't talking about killing a young boy who had harmed no one. He was completely insane, Burt decided, convinced he was a murderous lunatic. But they were bound and helpless and this guy held all the aces. It seemed very likely that they were all going to die tonight.

* * *

A/N: I will update the story next Friday or Saturday. Tell me your guesses for how they are going to escape a terrible fate, and see how close you are. Of course, you can feel free to review, if you like.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 Kurt is WHAT?**

"You are completely _fucking_ nuts!" Blaine burst out, saying what Burt was too frightened to say. They were going to kill his boyfriend… and them too, because he thought Kurt was... Well, he had to be crazy. "You can't just _kill _us. That's just sick. There's no such thing as elves, except in movies and books. You can have whatever imaginary throne you want. We don't give a crap! Just leave us alone!"

"NO!" Kurt exploded unexpectedly. The man had evoked memories long buried. He remembered some of it now…he remembered a shadowy image (his mother?) telling him they had to hide to stay safe. She had sent him away with a guard, and warned him to stay as quiet as he could be, kneeled and then kissed him goodbye, with a soft loving smile. He remembered her hair was fairer than his; his was closer to the colour of his father's brown hair. He vaguely remembered him too, his brown eyes and generous laughing smile… a lot like Blaine's. Maybe that was why he had been attracted to him at first, but now Blaine was just Blaine. Holy good grief, was he _seriously_ some kind of prince? An elf prince?

Unknown to them, before the black SUV blended into all the other cars on the interstate, the covert operations catapulted into action by Jeff's phone call had managed to lock onto the kidnapper's cell phone signal in the car. They had been tracking them on their way to the remote cabin, trying to ascertain whether this boy might be the one they had been searching for. Judging from the appearance and age of the kidnapped boy, (from a photo acquired from Jeff) he certainly could be. From the threats overheard on their directional sound microphone and the guns casually aimed at their victims visible through their night-vision binoculars, they decided they could wait no longer to be sure. They could always say they were Secret Service, if he wasn't their missing prince. Highly trained special ops troops soundlessly closed in and swiftly aborted the assassination attempt.

"I think I…" Kurt was about to speak, when he heard an almighty crash and a thud that made him jump nearly a foot, his heart racing in fear, his blindfold blinkering him from knowing what was happening. Blaine and Burt crowded close, huddled together while things whistled through the air around them, desperately wishing they could get rid of those blindfolds.

"Get down near the floor" Burt said urgently, hearing missiles hissing through the air, and leaned protectively over the boys. They dropped to their knees and leaned low, hoping that whatever the whistling sounds were, they would escape being targeted. They heard another thud and a grunt very nearby.

Footsteps shuffling across the floor came closer, until a hand clutched Kurt's arm, making him emit a panicked shriek. The hand suddenly twitched, then slowly released its grip and slid off his arm, ending in a third thud right beside him. The frightening whistling sounds stopped and everything became eerily quiet, with only their own terrified breathing audible. The three of them were still huddled together, struggling desperately to remove the blindfolds that were keeping them ignorant of whatever was going on, their hands still tightly bound.

Burt scrubbed his face against the chair beside him, slipping the blindfold down far enough to reveal a scene that baffled him. There was a dead middle-aged man on the floor next to Kurt, an icy cold frosted area on his chest, over his heart. Nearby was one of their black-clad captors, dead the same way and the feet of the last protruded from behind a sofa. Blaine's face was tucked into Kurt's neck and Kurt was holding him there with his shoulder, trying their best to comfort each other, as Kurt tried unsuccessfully to pull off Blaine's blindfold with his teeth. He was intensely relieved to see both boys seemed whole and undamaged.

The danger might not be over yet, Burt decided with a sinking feeling, when the wooden door creaked slowly open once again, revealing a dark-clad figure holding a weapon with a short stubby dart, cocked and ready to release. A silently vigilant young man stood there, his eyes warily scanning around the room from his helmet, obviously looking for more danger. Another man came in from another doorway and then a third behind him. They were all wearing dark bluish-grey clothing, with a crest over the right side of their chests, in a uniform that unnecessary to mark them as soldiers. The silver crest was identical on each of them, though the man at the door had an extra silver stripe across it, likely to mark his rank as their leader.

He walked slowly over to Kurt, his eyes still darting around the room for danger, and carefully removed his blind fold, while his fellows checked that the captors were truly dead and confiscated their weapons. When he pulled out a knife, Burt was about to throw his body onto his weapon, ready to commit suicide to deflect a new threat to his son, but the man seemed to guess his intent and watched him carefully. Burt wilted in relief when instead, the soldier cut the plastic tie holding Kurt's hands behind him, and helped him stand.

Kurt rubbed his sore wrists, as he looked around quickly to get his bearings. He instinctively _knew_ these men were no threat, here to rescue him. He removed Blaine's blindfold himself and turned him, to allow the soldier to cut his bonds too. Kurt thanked him with a smile, and watched him curiously as the man smiled in response and nodded back to him respectfully, and then bowed his head while he lifted his right arm to tap his chest over the crest in what was plainly an obeisance, a sign of respect. The really strange thing was that Kurt immediately recognized it and returned the proper response in thanks, touching his own chest in return where the crest would be, if he wore one.

The man smiled in pleasure, his eyes lighting with delight. "Its good to see you again, Kiert. Do you remember me?"

Kurt shook his head, mystified, then realized his father was still bound. "No, I'm sorry I don't. Could you, please?" The man freed Burt, then offered him the same sign of respect he had given Kurt, bowing and touching his chest. Burt rolled his eyes, thinking this was a little too much. Kurt smiled at him understandingly, but nodded in encouragement. Burt reluctantly returned his gesture, since they owed these guys a huge debt, but he felt really silly doing it, too much like a scene from one of Finn's adventure movies. Kurt was his _son_, not some kind of target in a fantasy tale.

"I am called Seyth, Kiert. My sister Tiana once used to be one of your caregivers, but it was a long time ago and a lot has happened since then." He excused Kiert not remembering him with a casual shrug. That wasn't important. What was important was that his queen would be so relieved to know they had finally found the prince - the entire kingdom would be.

Burt heard the phrase he used, 'I am called'…and remembered Kurt mentioning Tiana's name back when he was just little…which meant…hoooly crap, this whole ridiculous story could be true? His son really _was_ some kind of a prince? An_ elf _prince? He really _had_ been trying to escape from people trying to kill him, an innocent child, when Burt had found him? Woaaah!

The door creaked open again, and a woman with a regal presence about two decades older than Burt entered, dressed in similar clothes to the men, but her crest was larger and more ornate with extensive silver accents on a decorative band from shoulder to waist, plainly the Queen Kiala the kidnappers had referred to. She came closer to Kiert, and put out a hand tentatively to feel his arm. A wide smile broke across her face when she confirmed he was truly _real_, it was him. Kurt bent his head and touched his chest, gazing back at her tremulously. She enfolded him in a grateful hug, and let her tears of happiness flow down her face.

"I was so afraid you were gone forever, Kiert. My heart is weeping with happiness to see you and hold you again. Shards, you look so much like Dari, except for those eyes…those are Kyria's." She pulled back and held his face cupped in her hands, then placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. She turned to Burt and bowed her head deeply and tapped her chest, something Kurt had never seen her do to anyone, except other royalty, and precious few of those too.

Burt awkwardly returned her gesture of respect, remembering to bow too. Kurt was ridiculously proud of him, ecstatic that he'd finally learned the reason he'd never felt like he fit in, different from everyone around him.

"Queen Kiala, I'd like to introduce my fa…uh...ah... This is Burt Hummel. He rescued me the night I lost Mother and raised me as his own son. He's loved me and kept me safe since the night he found me. I owe my life... I owe _everything_ to him." Kurt placed one hand on his father's arm and the other on the queen's, and hoped he was doing it right. Some of their customs were pretty hazy after so long.

"And this…this is Blaine. He's my …ah... my consort?" A boyfriend wasn't a concept his grandmother would recognize as anything more than a friend. He seemed to recall that his people were rather more formal about those things than, um, humans, and she would definitely disapprove of the casual dating relationships they formed. Her eyes opened wide in surprise at Kiert's words, but an experienced diplomat, she greeted Blaine politely, though she tapped her chest in a greeting far less formal than the one Burt had gotten. Blaine returned it gracefully, instinctively knowing he should bow, which was proper for the situation. Kurt gave him an encouraging squeeze of his hand.

"I see. We'll have to speak more tomorrow, Kiert. I'm interested in hearing all about your life, but you must all be exhausted after everything you've been through today. May I offer you food and rest for the night?" She turned and gestured for them to go out the door, so they followed her out, finding another twenty soldiers milling around outside around the cabin and a detail of five men digging industriously beyond a line of trees.

Blaine couldn't help being disappointed to find the soldiers had arrived in vehicles, including a Suburban Chevy van with five rows of seats, and two minivans and several SUVs. He wasn't sure what he _was _expecting but unexceptional motor vehicles felt anticlimactic. On the other hand, if they were trying not to attract attention, flying dragons probably weren't a viable choice for transport.

His disappointment dissipated a _ton _when the SUV they rode in took them to a clearing where a jet-black helicopter waited, with its rotors turning slowly. Wow, awesome! One of the two guards had to be left behind with the ground troops to get them all in, but Kiert wouldn't hear of being separated from his father or Blaine, so the Queen graciously humoured him and granted his wish.

The helicopter lifted off the ground and swooped away, into the last rays of sunset. Woah. His boyfriend's family was seriously set up, Blaine speculated, awestruck as they passed low over forests and lakes, probably to avoid radar detection. He still felt like he'd stepped into an action movie, and wouldn't be surprised if he woke up in his bed. It was much too loud for conversation in the cockpit of the bird, but each of them was lost in their thoughts anyway.

It was soon pitch dark, so they couldn't see much, but the half hour flight took them to what seemed like a remote compound on the shore of a large body of water. The helicopter landed delicately in a clearing in the trees near a log cabin whose windows emitted the only light besides the stars. A middle-aged woman waiting for them with a lantern escorted them down a wide path to the building. As they got closer, they saw the building was quite large, with two stories and a front and back porch, and several outbuildings, less a weekend cabin than an extensive wilderness compound.

They followed Kiala inside to a spacious foyer, where they were met by another woman who greeted the queen politely, and then smiled warmly at Kurt, with a respectful welcoming salute. Kiala introduced her as Nidin, her personal assistant, then asked that Blaine and Burt be shown to a bedroom and supplied with some refreshments and whatever else they needed for their comfort, while she spoke to Kiert. The assistant nodded, tapped her chest and said she would return after a short moment to make arrangements, while they gazed around in wonder. The building had high beamed wood ceilings, and a central staircase that led to an upstairs gallery with several doors leading from it. The walls held several very large artworks of mixed media, depicting forest scenes, in vibrant green and blues.

When Nidin returned and asked Blaine and Burt to follow her upstairs, Burt asked if someone could call or email Carole to say they were safe, since none of them had their phones with them, left behind in their vehicles when they were taken. Nidin said she would see to it as soon as she could. Blaine shared a lingering last look with Kurt who watched him leave regretfully.

Kiala herself showed Kurt to her office. She seated herself by the dark window and gestured to the other chair beside her. "Kiert, now that you are back with us, we will need to present you to our people as soon as we can, so they are reassured that you're safe and our kingdom is secure. There are a lot of people who believe that when you take over the throne it will mark the beginning of a new peace between the two Eldari nations, for the first time in nearly half a millennium. We'll set the time and place for your introduction soon, but meanwhile we need to teach you all the things you missed learning about our people, while you lived with Burt. Being a king isn't easy and you'll need to be prepared for your role." She smiled at Kiert, who looked uneasy at her words.

Holy cow, first he'd been kidnapped by people who wanted to kill him and now he was just as much a captive, held by his own family. Kurt stared down at his hands, wondering if his life as he'd known it until now was over. What about finishing high school, and going to NYADA? What about Blaine? "I still have more than a year, until I finish high school." He said the words softly to himself, unable to believe he wouldn't be going back to Dalton on Monday.

"Oh, no. That won't be necessary. The only schooling you'll need from here forward will be with us." Kiala said the words firmly but gently, so Kiert would understand he had obligations to fulfil as a member of the ruling family. "Our people need you here, your presence visible. I've been in semi seclusion since the coup fourteen years ago, under the protection of the royal guard to ensure my security and safety, except for occasional state appearances. Once it's known I'm not the last surviving member of my family and there is a future ahead for our realm, I believe those Southern Eldari trying to overthrow the monarchy will give up, especially since the instigator of their plotting was eliminated today. Remember, you are part of _their_ aristocracy too, through your father."

Kurt acceded reluctantly, so she wished him a good night and left him to Nidin who showed him to his suite. He prepared for bed, feeling lost and alone, wishing he could talk to his father or Blaine.

Well, why couldn't he, if he was the damn prince? He would be damned if he was going to narrowly escape dying, just to be held as a captive here. He dressed again in the soft garments he found in the closet, made of a blue gray light-weight fabric that reflected the blue of his eyes, hoping he might blend in better to escape notice. The outfit felt like he was wearing his pajamas, far less tailored and layered than his usually clothes.

He opened his bedroom door and furtively crept down the hallway, finding everything quiet. The other doors in the upper hall were standing open, except for only two. He tapped lightly on the first one; with a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right, he really hoped it was Blaine's door. And, luckily it was. Blaine's face split into a huge smile as Kurt wrapped around the comforting body of his boyfriend. They held each other, Blaine nudging the door shut behind Kurt carefully with a toe.

"I was half afraid they'd sneak you out of here in the night and I'd never see you again." Blaine said softly into his hair, very grateful that Kurt still loved him, in spite of being some kind of prince.

Kurt grinned at him, dismissing the events of the day. "I'm not four anymore, Blaine. They can't _make _me do what I don't want to. If they want me to cooperate with them, they had better be nice to you and Dad. Thank you for following me tonight. If you hadn't, I don't think I would have made it out of that alive." He kissed Blaine then, finding comfort in his arms. They were interrupted by a brief tap at the door, before it opened to show the queen standing there, looking extremely provoked.

"Kiert! You should _not_ be here! I owe this boy a great debt for leading us to you, but I can't allow this kind of behavior to go on. He's human, and a commoner at that. He can_ not _be your consort. Please, take your leave now, and return to your room." She stood in the door way glaring at them, prepared to watch while he broke up with his boyfriend forever.

If she'd known her grandson as well as Blaine did, she would have known not to take that tone with him. Kurt's face flushed red, and he clenched his fists, refusing to accept that he had to leave behind the man he loved. "No! I never asked to be your prince anyway. I grew up a human, and a commoner, _at that,_ so I'm not giving up Blaine, just because you say so!" Kurt challenged her, his eyes flashing. "_And_ I'm going back and finishing high school at Dalton, too! I'll be your damned prince, if I have to, and let you present me to your people, but you can keep the throne warm while I go live my life." Kurt's temper exploded when everything he cared about was suddenly yanked out from under him...again.

"Hey, just a minute there, young man! You do _not_ take that tone with adults. You need to apologize to Queen Kiala, right now." Burt was standing in the doorway, summoned by the loudly upset voice of his son. Getting mad wasn't going to solve anything, and might even make things worse. She was the Queen, and you don't yell at a queen, even if you were her grandson.

Kurt looked sheepish at his outburst, but Burt knew from that mulish glare, he hadn't conceded yet. Stubbornness was apparently a family trait. Kiala had exactly the same look in her eyes, regretting the need to punish the boy for his lack of respect, when she'd only just found him. Kurt gave in first, knowing he had been out of line.

"I apologize, Queen Kiala. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that." Kurt muttered the words resentfully, but he still held Blaine's hand in his tightly, in a silent refusal of her orders.

"Okay, thank you. Now what set you off?" Burt asked him calmly, coming closer and speaking directly to Kurt, having had long experience with his son's temper.

'I'm afraid that was me." Kiala volunteered, impressed in spite of herself with Burt's authority over her grandson. "Perhaps I should have been more sensitive to your feelings, Kiert. I apologize to you too. I want you to be proud of who you are, not force you into slavery. You really would rather go back to high school, than assume your role as the heir to the Sapphire Throne, or is it Blaine you're most reluctant to leave behind?" His grandmother asked Kurt a question to which he was sure of the answer but before he could reply, Blaine interrupted softly.

"Maybe you could work out some sort of compromise where Kurt could stay at school for now _and_ fulfil his family obligations." Blaine offered hesitantly, keeping himself right out of the picture. He privately hoped that maybe if Kurt stayed at Dalton, that they could stay together too.

"If Dalton Academy is all _that_ important to you, perhaps we can work out something so you can stay there, at least until you graduate, but only if we lay out some conditions." Kiala hoped she wasn't making a mistake in giving in to Kiert's demands. Regardless of where he lived, the prince couldn't ever be mated to a human while he remained the heir to the throne. This was a prime opportunity to form a stronger alliance with the Southern Eldari, with a negotiated pairing between Kiert and one of their eligible princes to strengthen their connection.

"That sounds pretty reasonable, doesn't it Kurt? Why don't you say goodnight to Blaine and we'll figure the rest out in the morning. It's been a big day for all of us, and I'm sure we can discuss the situation more calmly after we get some sleep. Kiala and I will wait for you in the hall." Burt managed to finagle a couple minutes of privacy for the boys, since without Blaine, neither of them would have Kurt here to squabble over.

Kiala gave Burt a grateful smile as the door was closed behind them. He really was very good with Kiert. "You love him, as if he really _was _your own, don't you?" She eyed him curiously.

Burt nodded. "Yeah, since about ten seconds after that little boy's arms went around my neck, the night I found him on my front step half frozen and scared silly. He's been everything I could have hoped for in a son. I don't even care anymore about not ever having grandchildren. At first, when I realized he was gay, I regretted it, but now I think he's perfect just the way he is."

Kiala looked at him curiously. "Ah yes, grandchildren. Actually, humans and elves are very different in that respect. Once Kurt and his chosen mate are bonded, they can have children after a year or two, and of course, he would surely want you to remain in his life, as their grandfather. Normally I would recommend waiting a decade or two before they have children, but since he is the _only_ heir now, perhaps a whole troupe of children starting fairly soon after bonding would be a good idea." Kiala chuckled, only half joking.

Burt wondered what part of gay she didn't understand, his face showing his confusion. Surely she didn't expect Kurt to marry a woman. "You do realize Kurt is gay, right? His partner will be male. You need a lady in the equation, to be able to have children."

"Well, you see Burt, that's why he must bond with another elf. Humans can't procreate the same way as elves can. At first glance, we look very similar, especially when we're children, but there are significant differences. All elves have both male _and _female traits, though only one sex is dominant in any one person. The mating process itself makes both partners' dormant attributes become more developed and once they're fully matured, either partner may gestate a child, depending on who is most fertile at the time. In rare instances, both partners can gestate at the same time. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way with humans, does it?"

Burt was a little brain-boggled with the information he had just absorbed. Kurt…his _son_ could have babies, because he was an elf? "Mmmm. I wondered why everyone was convinced the royal line was going to be carried on." Burt said, still astonished by the news.

The bedroom door behind him opened and Kurt emerged from Blaine's room, a dreamy smile still on his face, leftover from saying goodnight to his boyfriend. Oh lord, Burt knew they both were in for some heartbreak, once they learned there was no hope for them.

Everyone went to bed then, with a lot to think about.

* * *

A/N: Kurt has been delivered from his kidnappers, but now he is a captive again. He is stubborn enough to try to get his own way, but responsible enough to do as he must. How is his life going to change now? Leave a review and tell me what you think will happen.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 Back to School**

Kurt was grudgingly allowed to return to Dalton, but only under certain conditions. In return for being allowed to resume his former life, he had to promise two things. He had to be at the Lima municipal airport every Saturday at noon to be picked up by a helicopter, which incidentally meant he could still have Friday dinner at the Hudmel house. The copter returned him by Sunday night to a remote field, where he was picked up by a car and dropped off again at Dalton's front gates.

Most of the intervening time with the Eldari was filled with intense lessons learning his people's history, diplomacy and protocol. Saturday evenings were reserved to be spent with his grandmother, getting to know her again. He was supposed to learn the lineage of the noble families, and other important personages and pick up at least a smattering of the Eldari language, though English was the primary language spoken by most Eldari now, except for a few remote settlements where Elvari was still used in daily life. When he needed a break from all the history lessons, he was supposed to learn self defense from Seyth. Kurt figured he would hate hand to hand fighting, but maybe he could use it as an outlet for the resentment and frustration he felt at having his life hijacked, and who knew? Maybe one day it might even be useful.

The other condition was that he immediately cease engaging in any more, um….intimate encounters with his boyfriend, Blaine. One of the first lessons his grandmother ensured he was taught, was basic Eldari physiology, so he would understand the reason for her inflexible insistence that his mate be another elf. It He was dismayed to learn that he and his future Eldari partner were expected to procreate, to continue his family lineage. Oh. My. _Gahwd!_

He didn't want _anything_ to do with, ew...all that yucky stuff. All he wanted was to be left in peace with his boyfriend. There was a limit to what he was willing to do for the Queen, and having babies was well over the line. Although actually, if his mate ended up bearing the babies it wouldn't be so bad... but that meant he couldn't have Blaine, and he absolutely, categorically refused to break up with the boy he loved, because some day far in the future, he might need an heir.

His fingers had been crossed behind him when he made that pledge, sure they would never find out he actually intended to continue to make out with Blaine every chance he got, while he still could. It wasn't fair to have to give up Blaine, when he had only recently found happiness with him at Dalton. He didn't need an injunction from his grandmother to make him decide that making out was as far as he was going to go. God, they'd only just gotten into kissing, and that was enough to nearly make him pass out.

As a result during the following week, Kurt spent every moment he could with Blaine during the school day, eked out of all his other responsibilities, with the regular three times a week Warbler practices, meaning the heavy academic load resulted in tons of homework on school nights. Even though it seemed quite possible he would never get to go to college at all now, Kurt didn't let off on his grades. He owed it to his father…well, he owed it to Burt, to do the best he could, while they were paying an arm and a leg to keep him there.

Somehow though, he kept getting distracted, instead of following through with his sincere intentions to study. A feeling of desperation kept haunting him, like the clock was ticking and their time together was running out much too fast. They were on Kurt's bed, Kurt lying on top of Blaine, urgently delving into his mouth with his tongue with their school books being crushed and crinkled unheedingly all around them. Blaine was balancing him on his hipbones with one of his legs wrapped around his thigh to make sure he didn't go anywhere. He wanted Kurt so bad it made him whimper as he shoved upward with his hips instinctively, nearly going crazy.

Kurt gasped and shoved downward, in a matching reaction. They finally got their rhythm coordinated and rocked together, getting way overheated, with the electric sparks of pleasure they were feeling. Blaine was only seconds away from exploding when he suddenly felt Kurt rolling off of him, curling into himself with a whine of dismay. "Ohmygod! Ohmy_god!_"

"Baby, where'd you go?" Blaine was in an agony of need, but he knew Kurt had to be suffering just as much as he was. Why had Kurt bailed on him, when they both wanted this so bad?

"I'm sorry, Blaine. God, you don't _know_ how sorry I am! I can't… I can't. I promised I wouldn't do any of this stuff. We're getting way past just making out." Kurt took a heaving breath, his need starting to become manageable again though his whole body was shaking with the desire he was trying to supress.

"I…but they won't know. Please? Kurt, please." Blaine found himself begging his boyfriend, reaching an arm out to him to encourage him to come back.

"I can't Blaine! I want to. Shards, I _do _want to! But, they _will_ know. My hormones work differently from yours, honey. It's mating that matures elves. I'll look like this, until I mate. Then… my body will gradually change and after a year or so, I'll look older, more mature. I'll _finally_ have to shave. There are other changes that will happen too, Blaine." Kurt wasn't sure how Blaine would react to hearing about those changes. How did you tell your boyfriend about this bizarre stuff that made him different from every other boy at Dalton, or anywhere else around here?

"I sort of really like you_ this_ way, but I'm sure I'll love you no matter how you look. So if we mess around, your body will tell on us?" Blaine kind of liked the idea that people would know Kurt was his lover, marking Kurt as his very own.

"Yes, it will. But there's more. Elves mate permanently, Blaine. If we go too far, I'll be mated with you forever, until one of us dies…maybe until we both die. That's a huge commitment Blaine, so we can't just mess around, as you put it. Love me once, love me forever, I guess." Kurt smiled at his boyfriend weakly, trying to keep his tone light. He knew they were both still young. Humans drifted in and out of love seemingly at random. There was no way Blaine could commit to forever at seventeen, even if Kurt ever _was_ allowed to mate with a human.

That little heated episode they'd unexpectedly fallen into had almost gotten too tempting to resist. He had pledged to his grandmother to not go there, and he nearly had. He had to be more careful not to let his attraction to Blaine make him forget himself. It wasn't all about what _he_ wanted anymore.

"You're not ever going to mess around with me then, are you? You don't _want_ to stay with me. I'm just a bit of fun on the side until you find Mr. Perfect Elf, right?" Kurt could see the pain in Blaine's eyes. He didn't answer him, unwilling to tell him he was right. It seemed their love was fated to never be consummated, but that certainly wasn't Kurt's choice.

Blaine got up, grabbed his school books and jammed them haphazardly into his bag and left, without ever meeting Kurt's eyes again. When he was gone Kurt clutched his pillow and let his tears soak into it, afraid Blaine had given up on them. There _had _to be a way they could stay together. Why should he have to mate with somebody he didn't even know or like, when he loved Blaine?

They were both Warblers, and they shared classes in school, so it was excruciating that they had to see each other all the time with this rift huge between them now. Everyone noticed that they weren't together anymore and the painful tension between them. Kurt felt so alone without his boyfriend at his side, wishing he could stay in bed and just cry all day.

Blaine knew Kurt was the only one for him, but now Kurt was meant for much bigger things than being with him, a mere human commoner. How was he ever going to find someone so amazing ever again? He painfully regretted taking so long to figure out that Kurt was so much more than his best friend. Maybe he was better off not being with Kurt at all, if he couldn't ever have all of him, but just the thought of never holding him again made his heart ache.

The next Saturday afternoon, Kurt was sitting with his chin in his hand, supposedly listening to his instructor Timon lecture him on ensuring the security of the throne and the development of protocols to…..but all he could see was Blaine's face, his eyes reflecting his agony. He scrubbed his face with his hands, trying to focus, but it was no use. He excused himself and went outside to stand on the dock, staring into the distance, but not seeing the lake in front of him either.

"Timon tells me you can't focus on your lessons. Is it Blaine?" Kurt looked over his shoulder at his grandmother and nodded slowly. She saw the heartbreak on his face, and wondered just how deeply he was attached to the boy from Dalton. "Kiert, you haven't…ah…had relations with him, have you?" Kurt just glared at her resentfully.

"_No_, I haven't, but I want to. I may have an Eldari body, but it feels like I have a human heart. I love him Kiala, even without ever sharing his bed. I told him we couldn't mess around and he took that to mean I didn't want to. He's hurt." Kurt kicked a pebble into the lake viciously, distraught at the injustice of not being able to have the man he loved.

"I'm concerned, Kiert. If your attachment to him is too strong, you won't be able to bond properly with your mate. There are occasional instances of humans and elves mating now that we live so closely with them, even in the best of families, but usually the fate of the royal line doesn't hang on their relationship. I'm sorry your heart is hurting." Kiala was sincerely in her regret but she was worried about more than Kiert's feelings. If Blaine and Kiert were already heart-bonded, then the throne would eventually go to the strongest challenger, in a civil war that could turn bloody and violent and decimate their already diminished people.

Kurt knew his grandmother didn't want to break his heart. He considered Kiala's words about occasional cross-species mating. "What happens in elf-human partnerships? Does the elf partner never fully mature? Can an elf carry a half-human child?" Kurt had questions, lots of questions. He wanted to know everything he could about this bonding stuff. Maybe there was still a way he could have the man he loved. Kiala didn't know those answers for sure, but she knew where to find people who could tell her.

The next morning they travelled together by helicopter to the most foremost Eldari authority on reproduction to get some answers. She didn't tell the doctor their true identities, though he'd heard a circulating rumor from a trustworthy source that the royal family had recently recovered their missing heir. He had his own suspicions of who he was advising about the details of what might happen when elves mated with humans. He could easily tell Kiala hadn't given up hope that they could somehow sever Kurt's infatuation with a human male and still mate him to a more suitable partner, while Kurt just wanted to know if there was any way to keep his human boyfriend forever and still fulfill his obligations to his family.

The respected Doctor had researched many old tomes to refresh and refine his knowledge, rereading their people's long history of human and elf contact to ensure he gave them only documented facts, instead of conjecture and guesswork. His answers were too important to risk an error, the fate of the royal family riding on him. He made them some tea, and they all sat in his garden set in a remote mountain valley to discuss their questions in depth. He had to remember to speak as if he didn't know that it was his queen and her heir anonymously asking these uncomfortable questions. He began with an overview of the situation.

"Physically, humans and elves are outwardly and genetically very similar, with only a few genes' difference. The species are able to cross breed, just as most other humanoid species are able to cross breed with viable fertile progeny. It has been sometimes rumoured that half-bloods tend to have health issues that sometimes result in leukemia or some other auto-immune diseases. There is no good research that supports that ugly rumour, so I believe you should discount anything you hear about that. It's likely just bigotry that started those stories."

"Now we have hundreds of records of our people cross-breeding with humans since the beginning of our recorded history, but of course, most of those bondings were male and female pairings. Most of those elves who mated with a human went to live among humans, seldom to be heard from in Eldari society again. Of course, they were sworn to secrecy to keep their elf families safe, and most lost touch, especially before the internet helped to keep our remote settlements connected."

"Recorded children from a human male to Eldari male mating are _extremely_ rare. Naturally, a pregnant elf male has to disguise himself as a female in human society, and give birth to any children in secret, with even their own children remaining uninformed about their true heritage, to prevent them spreading knowledge they shouldn't. Their progeny are of course, half Eldari, and since our genes are dominant, they are also able to reproduce as elves do. But unless the child was also Idemsexual, they would express only their human physiology with an opposite sex mate and seldom ever discover they had foreign blood."

"By the third generation of dilution with human genes, they usually lose the ability to develop the necessary hormones. We have never had a recorded case of a half-blood mating with another half-blood, but if there was such an eventuality, I assume there would be a 75% chance of their progeny retaining the ability to bear children, just as with any other dominate gene trait. The exception to that would be if the child was Idemsexual also and underwent the necessary hormonal transformation, he would then become fertile, and able to bear children to the human male partner. Not surprisingly, those pregnancies are seldom reported to human doctors or to Eldari ones."

"There were only _very_ few recorded isolated instances of half-bloods returning to our people and being accepted as an elf's mate, so they were mostly kept secret. Most elf lineages would consider a half blood as unacceptable to mate with. Their children would retain a recessive human gene, that would occasionally crop up, causing the bearer to be unable to complete a transsexual transformation, though still able to reproduce without a transformation."

"Excuse me Doctor. What is 'Idemsexual?" Kurt interrupted the man's lecture, since he was getting off topic anyway. He suspected it meant homosexual, but as applied to elves. His deduction was confirmed.

The doctor wondered if Kiala would ever let half-bloods taint the blood of their royal family. Perhaps, she would have no choice if the boy was already bonded to a human, as he suspected. At least there was the possibility of children before the human flitted away like a butterfly in search of his next partner. He continued his lecture, intent on imparting the full extent of his knowledge.

"The other possibility to have a half Eldari child is a human woman bearing an elf male's child. This also is extremely rare, because elves mate permanently and humans do not. It's very risky for elves to mate with humans, since they are often promiscuous and fickle. They carelessly promise to bond forever and then discover they've changed their minds a few years down the road, which unfortunately often leads to lifelong heartache for the elf partner.

Kurt was losing his patience and interrupted again to ask his most pressing question. He was irked at the old bigot's superior attitude towards humans. Not _every_ human was fickle and insincere. He knew lots of humans that mated for their whole lives, without ever straying into adultery and abandoning their mates. He wanted the old fart to confirm his suspicions out loud, so Kiala couldn't escape admitting that he and Blaine could mate after all. "Are you saying that if I mated with a human male, that we could still have children to carry on the royal line?"

"Why yes…at least _you_ could. Your body would of course, mature as it should if you were having regular relations. It would be a half - human child, but it would probably be quite as healthy as a fully Eldari one." So that meant he and Blaine could have children…_he _could, at least, and their children could then carry on the royal blood line. He began to fan the little flame of hope in his chest that this could work.

"Master, pardon my ignorance, but exactly how would a male impregnate another male?" Kurt needed to know the exact particulars, and so far everybody had been rather vague about how exactly this worked, saying only that he would be able to bear children. He had to know how it worked, to know how to _avoid _bearing children, for now.

"Hmmm. You should already know basic Eldari physiognomy, at your advanced age. Sexual stimulation of the prostate floods the endocrine system with hormones that activate dormant sexual characteristics. Your secondary reproductive organs remain minute until those hormones incite their growth."

The doctor went into an extensive medical description, informing him that if he wanted babies, he was going to have to deal with all the same stuff that girls did, but at least he would retain his male traits too. The gist of it seemed to mean that only with regular "anal stimulation" (ie, sex), would his transformation take place. No bottoming = no transformation or at least only a very slow gradual one, and therefore no babies. So, if he only topped he should be able to avoid this horrifying side effect of being from another race. The doctor finished his discourse, just about the time that Kurt concluded he could bond with Blaine and still avoid all these complications, as long as his husband was okay with always being their he prevented direct stimulation to his prostate, the transformation might slow to take several years; it was as simple as that.

"By approximately six months to two years after you first bond, assuming a normal newlywed couple's schedule of intimacy, you should be fully fertile. You can, of course, continue to have normal anal intercourse until the transformation is complete. Eldari babies tend to be smaller than human newborns, after a thirty three week gestation, though a half-blood baby might be larger."

"Its quite normal to have some hormonal disturbances while your body is transforming, so emotional turbulence can sometimes result. You and your partner need to be sensitive and patient, but you _will_ get through it. As a matter of fact, some males don't feel like they are complete until after their female characteristics develop and children come along. I believe that that is how all humanoids should all be constructed, but Sapiens and Neanderthal, and the other humanoids haven't evolved that far yet. Do you have any other questions I can answer?"

The professor straightened his over gown, which was long enough to sweep the floor and smiled at Kurt with he assumed was an avuncular twinkle.

Kiala, having conceded that the conversation was about her grandson, asked if it was possible for a young Eldari to have formed a bond with his mate without actually having sex. The doctor said he wouldn't like to be quoted on it, but that he certainly believed it was possible, especially if their attachment had been long-standing. If the hormonal bond was too advanced, it required a realignment of everyone's plans.

The doctor offered to do blood tests to determine Kiert's hormone levels, to see whether his transformation had begun, if they wanted. Kiala nodded imperiously at Kurt to comply, so he rolled up his sleeve and let the doctor take some blood, looking away and wincing while it was done, with the hope the test would prove that he and Blaine were destined to be together. He knew in his heart that Blaine wasn't one of those flighty humans who briefly loved and left their partners and dearly hoped the changes he had already felt affecting him would prove that he and Blaine were destined to stay together.

Kurt wore a smug smile on his face all the way home, after confirming it was possible to continue the royal line, even married to a human. His grandmother noticed it, but hadn't yet fully accepted that her grandson was probably going to get his own way about keeping his human boyfriend.

She made him wait until they were back home, eating dinner together, just before he left for Dalton again, before she gave in to the inevitable. She finally told him he could formally ask Blaine to come with him the following weekend, so she could get to know him better, but only if the blood test came back positive, of which he would be notified this week. Kurt hugged her excitedly, but she reminded him to remember this wasn't a sure thing yet.

"We'll have to wait until we get the results of the test, Kiert. You keep your hands off that boy until you're bonded, do you understand? And if you want to finish school, you can't be in the middle of your transsexual phase. What if you were to conceive, before you returned to us permanently?"

His grandmother knew she was fighting a losing battle. If they were heart-bonded already, then the hormonal surges caused by that would ensure they soon consummated their bond. And if they _were_ heart-bonded, they must have been doing something to cause it, even if Kurt denied it. Human males had very little self-control at all, she'd heard, and her grandson was far too human for his own good, after he'd spent most of his life living among them.

Kurt returned to Dalton that night and tracked down Blaine, who was alone in his room with the lights off with an Etta James album playing the blues in the background. His friends said he'd been holed up like that all weekend, pitifully mourning the loss of his boyfriend. Kurt opened the door and went in, but left the light off. Blaine had his back turned to the door, to keep an invisible wall between himself and whoever it was intruding this time, trying to cheer him up. Kurt went to his bed and lay down behind him, pressing their bodies together from knees to shoulders, shocking Blaine out of his doldrums.

"Hi honey. I have some wonderful news…at least I hope it's good for you too. Kaila is possibly letting me bring you along with me next weekend. She's even considering letting us bond."

Blaine turned to look at his boyfriend with a hopeful smile. "Really? They're letting you get into bed with a common human?"

"Well…we have to take this one step at a time, but she's at least exploring all the options. It turns out I might already have begun bonding with you. If I have, you're stuck with me from now on, sweetheart. It seems they can tell from a blood test they took this morning." Kurt snuggled up closer, ecstatic to be close to Blaine again. He turned in his arms and they got reacquainted again, making out for an hour or so until their curfew chime rang and Kurt had to return to his room.

Kurt was in his Calculus class, his first one on the Monday when he saw Jeff smiling at him strangely. He lowered his brows in a question, and Jeff mouthed 'catch you at break'. Kurt nodded, wondering what was up with him.

Jeff pulled him over to an alcove when their class was over and tapped his chest and bowed his head in the Eldari gesture of respect for royalty. Kurt blushed and rolled his eyes in embarrassment, mortified at his gesture here at Dalton where he was just plain Kurt Hummel. Jeff grinned at his response, confirming his suspicions. Kurt looked both ways and whispered repressively to him. "Don't _do _that! Nobody is supposed…wait, how do _you_ know who I am?" Kurt suddenly realized there was only one way that Jeff would have known that gesture. _He_ was one of them too.

Jeff admitted to Kurt's deductions with a shrug and whispered back. "My family sent me here so I could get into MIT, without either joining the army or the FBI. I've had my suspicions about you before, but I didn't know for sure until I saw those guys grab you in the parking lot. I'm glad you're okay and our guards got to you in time."

"You're the one who let _them_ know I needed help? I think I owe you a huge debt, Jeff. The kidnappers were actually going to kill us all and the guards rescued us just in the nick of time." Kurt bent his head and offered a bow and a tap of his chest to Jeff in return, who blushed to his toes at the recognition from his prince.

"Just remember I'm here for you, Kurt. If you need anything at all, say the word, _Elin_." Jeff offered his allegiance shyly, using the Eldari word for prince, which pretty much used up his repertoire of the Eldari language. Actually very few of his kin spoke much of the Eldari language anymore. It was now mostly obsolete except in remote pockets far away from the pervasive effect of human culture and for ceremonies.

Kurt nodded, accepting Jeff's offer reluctantly. He would have to get used to this sort of thing, he supposed. He suddenly remembered that Jeff knew too much about Blaine and him being together as boyfriends. "Um, you haven't said anything to them about Blaine and I, have you?"

Jeff wondered if the royal family knew Kurt was getting it on with his human boyfriend, but there was no way_ he_ was going to tell on them, even if it might be his duty to his queen. In fact, he would help cover for him, if Kurt needed him to. Dalton had made Kurt and Blaine like family, even though Blaine was human. That was the risk they took with mingling their young people with humans.

Jeff grinned and shook his head, zipping his fingers over his mouth, to say he wasn't going to blab any secrets. Kurt grinned back gratefully as they moved on to their next class to ensure they wouldn't get into trouble by being late. Kurt was grateful to know he wasn't the only Eldari here anymore, exotically different from anyone else he knew, even if Jeff was straight and he wasn't. How many more of them were living among the humans, masquerading as one of them?

"Oh, hallelujah. Your lover's spat is over! All Blaine wanted to sing were heartbreak songs. He sang 'I Love You More Than This' in the senior common yesterday and damn near broke all our hearts. Kurt, you are not allowed to make him think you might love anyone else, ever again. Got it?" Wes instructed Kurt dramatically at practice that afternoon when he saw Blaine was wearing his usual sunny smile and Kurt was standing by his side.

All the Warblers were intensely grateful their lead had gotten over his whining and moaning about losing his boyfriend. They had to rehearse something upbeat and catchy and how did you do that with a lead that could barely stop crying long enough to sing a chorus? David swore Blaine could probably make Yankee Doodle sound mournful. Kurt stood in the back row and sang backup harmony watching proudly as his boyfriend sang and danced up a storm. He didn't need to be in a spotlight himself, content to watch Blaine perform.

Kurt had gotten an email on the previous Friday morning, from an anonymous 'do not reply' email address, confirming the arrival of Blaine Anderson with Kurt Hummel at the airport Saturday, so he had to assume his blood work was positive for bonding hormones or whatever they were. Before either of them was allowed on the whirlybird, the guard took their cellphones and removed the battery to ensure the GPS was disabled. Blaine tried to watch where the helicopter was going, but he had no idea there were that many trees in all of America before this with miles upon endless miles of forests passing below him. He thought they were headed northwest, somewhere west of Chicago, on Lake Michigan or maybe even as far as Lake Superior. It was impossible to tell direction with no landmarks to get your bearings or an idea of how fast they were travelling.

When the boys entered the house Blaine bowed and touched his chest politely when once again he met the Queen. He was unable to wipe the pleased smile off his face, since the last time he'd seen her, she had told him he wasn't good enough to be boyfriends with her grandson.

The queen touched her chest in reply and apologized to him graciously. "Hello Blaine and welcome back. I would like to apologize for my less than welcoming attitude earlier. I admit I had a preconceived notion of Kurt's future mate. I'd forgotten he is an adult now and therefore entitled to have a say in choosing his own mate."

The queen's courteous apology did help Blaine to abandon some of his hurt and resentment so he did his best to forget the last of it. "Well, I imagine you weren't expecting him to have me as baggage when you found him again." Blaine answered her just as graciously. "Thank you for giving me a chance to prove I deserve him. I've always known he was special, but I never knew exactly how special until now." He glanced at Kurt with a fond smile as he spoke, making Kurt blush pink. Kiala smiled too, thinking Blaine was quite a charmer... for a human.

Kurt decided to interrupt, now that the claws had been retracted. Kurt was pleased to see his grandmother and Blaine playing nice together and hoped they would eventually learn to like each other. "Well, thank you for calling me an adult, Kiala but Blaine and I are just teenagers right now. I think we'll wait until after we graduate until we're officially bonded."

He'd told Blaine they must have begun bonding since he was allowed to bring him along, and Blaine had grinned in delight at the news that they could stay together, but now it sounded like Kurt was talking about marriage. Uh, …whut? Blaine's eyes opened in shock. Married…at eighteen, right out of high school? That was intense! He had sort of planned to be married maybe around twenty five to twenty eight …maybe even thirty.

Kiala's explanation enlightened him as to why that wouldn't work for Kurt. "Kiert, Elves are adults at sixteen. Humans are physically ready to mate at the same age, but psychologically they are a bit slower to develop, so they need a few more years until they're considered adult. Just because you live among humans and _look_ immature compared to them, doesn't mean you_ are. _You're physically and emotionally prepared to be paired now, and we simply can't afford to wait any longer for Blaine to catch up, since _somehow _you became bonded to each other." The queen gave Blaine a half teasing condescending smile, that reminded Blaine strongly of his boyfriend's smirk when he was teasing him. Blaine suspected she knew very well they had continued to mess around at Dalton.

"Yeah, well. I _still _think we'll wait until the summer we turn eighteen. That's the soonest I think we'll be ready." Kurt added quickly, unwilling to let Blaine think he believed he was immature.

"Kiert, I have agreed that you could continue at Dalton, but since your bonding has already begun, we have to ensure the bonding ceremony takes place as soon as possible. I'm planning to have your bond sealed just after you are presented to our subjects as soon as we can arrange it. It will still be a year or two before you have children, and continuing our line is of the highest importance." What Kiala wasn't saying out loud, was that she wanted them to have children as soon as possible in case Blaine deserted her grandson and left him unable to form another bond.

Blaine's eyes opened even wider and his mouth fell open comically. WHAT? Kids? At twenty? Uh, _no. No, no, no_! He wasn't even sure he wanted kids at all, before he was thirty. _He_ was still a kid! He was getting in way over his head!

Kurt noticed the freaked out expression on Blaine's face band both he and his grandmother agreed they were overdue for a serious talk. She gave him a direct stare that clearly said, _Kiert speak to him and straighten him out!_ She rolled her eyes, again looking eerily like her grandson in a snit and left the room, before she said something she regretted.

Kurt quickly invited Blaine to go with him on a walk, the best opportunity for some privacy at the compound. Normally Kurt and the wilderness were not friends at all, but whenever he left the compound, a body guard accompanied him. He imperiously asked the bodyguard to walk about twenty feet behind them, so the guard tapped his chest, murmured obediently and withdrew. He and Blaine shared a chuckle at how his new role as a prince seemed to come naturally to him.

They walked along the lake shore holding hands, with Blaine kicking any rocks in the way on the beach, which consisted mostly of well-worn pebbles and rocks. He was starting to feel like he was being subjected to a shotgun wedding without ever getting into Kurt's pants.

"Blaine, I know this a lot to take on, especially because we're so young, but I have obligations to my people. You and I have already started to bond, and we _have_ to have children, sooner than either of us ever dreamed of, though I don't intend for it to happen as soon as Kiala thinks it should. It's part of the deal with being my partner, and remember that I never asked for this either. I never dreamed I'd end up as the only heir to a throne, but I have to put my dreams aside and someday take my predestined place on the throne, and figure out how to bring peace back to them after hundreds of years of hostility. My parents died for this, and I owe it to them to finish what they started."

Kurt turned to stand in front of Blaine and took his hands in both of his, his eyes hopeful. "Would you be willing to give up your dreams too, to be with me, Blaine? Would you agree to be my life-partner and the father of our children, the future royalty of the Eldari?" Kurt knelt in front of Blaine unexpectedly on one knee, surprising Blaine and shocking their guard, who suddenly feigned an interest in the forest nearby. He retreated a little farther away to give them more privacy, though he was charmed by watching his prince romantically propose to his partner.

Blaine knew they were very young. Far too young to be married, as far as he was concerned, but he loved Kurt desperately, truly, madly and deeply…like, _forever_ loved him. He'd only realized how much he loved him, when he'd thought he'd lost him. If that entailed marrying him next weekend and having a surrogate bear Kurt's children in a couple more years, then that was how it was going to be. At least they wouldn't have to do it alone, with all of Kurt's entourage around to help them.

All those childhood daydreams of falling in love with a prince when he had watched The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast and all those other Disney stories, had seemed impossible to a boy from Ohio. Now they had unexpectedly come true, so he needed to man up, and get on board with the program. He got down on his knees too and whispered as he leaned in to kiss his boyfriend. "Yes, I'd be honoured to be your partner, Prince Charming."

The guard grinned at them, his soft romantic heart thrilled for them when they kissed, kneeling together in the sand and then stood up, their arms wrapped around each other's waists, as they walked. Kurt knew he had to tell Blaine all the awkward details that being married to him entailed, but not just at this moment. For now he wanted to savor the romance, with his fiancé.

They returned to the compound half an hour later, with Kurt already running late for his classes. Blaine was waylaid by Kiala, who took him into her office to talk to him privately. She listened while he was comprehensively interviewed regarding his, and his entire family's history by a woman who took extensive notes on an IPad. She asked personal questions about his health, and that of his other family members. Blaine felt like a prize heifer, except he knew he wasn't the one breeding here. Kurt would surely have to father any children they had, if the whole point was to continue their blood line. He didn't know why his family's health entered into the matter at all, and Kaila didn't deign to explain. Blaine answered all her questions truthfully as he could, since he had nothing to hide.

The interview ended with a request for a blood sample. He balked, and insisted he had _never_ been with a man so he couldn't be carrying anything, while he blanched with fear, but they persisted until he let them do it. God, he hated needles! He assumed they doubted his word, until Kaila softly apologized, saying Kiert was too important to all of them to take any chances and there were so many things you could catch without ever having relations with someone. Blaine agreed she had a point and tried not be upset about it. Then she held his hand and kept his eyes on her while the nurse put an elastic band around his arm and quickly poked him and withdrew the sample. He was partnering a prince, so yeah, of course there were strings attached, especially if they were going to be bound for their whole lives. He was just glad that part was over.

By dinner Sunday night, Kurt knew he was down to the crunch. He had to quit stalling and explain to his fiancé about Eldari procreation. He sat Blaine down and uncomfortably explained that they wouldn't be using a surrogate to have children. _He_ would be bearing their children. Blaine looked at him like he was crazy. "Kurt…You know I don't do girls. If you're going to turn into one or something, we have a serious problem. That would be a deal breaker."

"I'm _not_ going to turn into a girl. There will be a few small anatomical changes that will happen gradually over time, which we can delay even more, if you don't mind, um ... _not _topping. We can just do what guys do… um, until I start to, uh...ovulate. Then we take care of it, and go back to what we do again. If you want, we can even artificially inseminate me with your sperm, although that seems kind of cold. But I understand, Blaine. I feel the same way about all that stuff, remember? This feels incredibly weird for me too."

Kurt smiled then, looking down at Blaine's hands on his thighs. "I don't mind that our kids will look like you though, with half your genes. God, I hope they look like you!" He glanced up again, with an excited expression, picturing a tiny Blaine he could hold.

Blaine smiled back at Kurt. "No way! I want to have a little girl, with your eyes and your hair. No stupid curls please, especially if it's a boy! Can you see your grandmother now? Oh my god, Kiala is going to flip out, when we have our first, and your dad... Oh god! Um, Kurt, is your father going to murder me if I get you pregnant?" Kurt chuckled at Blaine's panicked face, though he wasn't exactly sure what his father was going to do if he got knocked up. His life had gone wildly out of control the night he'd gotten kidnapped, and now he was going wherever it led him, holding tightly to Blaine.

Blaine thought that having kids when they were in their twenties was somehow easier to take than learning his future husband was a freaking _Elf PRINCE_. After dealing with that, anything was doable...he hoped. At least if he was Kurt's partner, he thought he could deal with the rest.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 A Strange New Life**

The boys stood, offering a salute to show their respect to Kiala, when she came into the room. She gave Kurt a narrow eyed look, hoping Kurt had filled in Blaine on all his responsibilities, if he was to be his consort. Blaine looked alarmed at her expression, but Kurt knew she would soon learn to love his boyfriend, once she gave him a chance. _Everybody_ loved Blaine. He was like sunshine, lollypops and rainbows, all wrapped up in adorable, at least, to him he was.

He nodded to confirm that Blaine knew what he was in for…um, well, as much as he did. He still hadn't been able to completely absorb that he was going to have children one day either, but had responsibilities that he wasn't about to shirk, no matter how weird this whole deal was. But finding a place where he fit, where he felt normal, was worth discovering that he was even more unusual than even he ever thought he was.

She smiled back at them half-heartedly and nodded her permission to sit as she returned the gesture. So, her throne would go to their half-human progeny one day…so what? At least Blaine was a nice boy, even if Blaine was human, and seemed to be just as deeply in love with Kiert, as he was with Blaine. Perhaps they would be a successful match after all. It was a changing world and she had to face the fact that humans were influencing their culture more and more, as technology made them more pervasive.

"Tona tells me he witnessed your proposal earlier, while you were on your walk. I assume your answer was affirmative Blaine, so I would like to extend a welcome, to the family."

She sounded sort of resigned to him, but Blaine figured his reception could have been far worse. She might have thrown him into a dungeon, or had him executed for messing around with the prince. "So we're really…engaged or something?" He asked, kind of boggled. Holy smokes, he was the crown consort!

Kiala chuckled. "Yes, you are officially 'engaged' now, and with my blessing. You will be joined in an official ceremony performed at the same time Kiert is introduced as my heir…next weekend, I hope. Now, let's sit down and eat. I had a rather light lunch and a very busy day." At her words the food arrived and she and Kurt prepared to eat.

Blaine found he was having trouble swallowing anything. His throat was tight and he was breathing fast. The ceremony was taking place next _weekend?_ Geeze, what was the unholy rush!

Blaine's wide eyes, pale skin and his shallow breathing alerted Kurt to Blaine's anxiety. He put his hand on Blaine's shoulder and smiled at him sympathetically. "Its a bit overwhelming?"

Kiala watched them closely, observing how attuned to each other they were. "I know this seems to be going very fast to both of you, but we really do need to ensure that Kiert isn't put at risk by being my only heir. It makes him too tempting a target for anyone who wants to take over the throne. There is really no reason to wait any longer, now that we know your bond has already begun to take hold. Once you have a couple of children, it will take the temptation to stage a coup down several enormous notches. Are you getting cold feet, Blaine? This is a very large commitment, so please be sure spending your life with Kiert is what you want. Once the ceremony is performed, and you are joined, the bond can't be undone."

Blaine nodded, focusing on the fact that the whole point was to officially be recognized as Kurt's partner. He was very sure he loved Kurt, and he supposed the rest would work itself out. He inhaled deeply and smiled at his boyfr…no, at his fiancé, to reassure him. "Yes I'm absolutely sure Kiala. I _know_ we're meant to be together, from now on. I feel like breaking into a chorus of 'Forever Yours'." Blaine chuckled nervously, wishing he had a few Warblers around to sing backup.

The Warblers! Oh wow, they had to go back to school again tonight, back to their normal life! And then, possibly by next weekend, they were being 'joined', bonded, mated…Whatever you called it, it was permanent. But it entitled Kurt and him to share only _one _bedroom from then on, at least here at the lake compound, as they had started calling it. Back at Dalton, they would have to pretend they were still only boyfriends, since everyone in their normal life still considered them adolescents. And from then on, every weekend he and Kurt would get to spend weekends making love…actually strongly _encouraged _to make love. Blaine closed his eyes and once more swallowed hard, though for a different reason.

Yeah. He could probably deal with that.

He caught Kurt's eye, and let a small smile escape. Kurt smiled back, sensing the reason Blaine was becoming less anxious about their bonding. He felt more anxious, than eager about exploring the physical side of their attraction. He was sure he wasn't ready for that much intimacy yet, but if they were going to be bonded next week, he would have to manage, ready or not. He loved Blaine, and Blaine loved him, so he trusted that would be enough to get them through it.

The queen watched their exchange, and knew that their bonding would succeed, the way it should. Kiert's Elvian instincts would assert themselves and Blaine certainly seemed eager enough.

When dinner was over they waited at the helicopter pad with their overnight bags. They had told Blaine's parents they were staying at Kurt's house for the weekend, with Burt's blessing. Blaine's parents still insisted on calling Kurt Blaine's 'friend', as if he was just another buddy, uncomfortable with calling him his 'boyfriend'. He wondered how they felt about calling him his "partner" or "husband". Kiala had asked him if he wanted them to attend his wedding to Kurt, but Blaine knew it wouldn't work. Sadly, there was no way on earth he could tell them what was actually going on his life.

He could just hear them now, if he tried to invite them next weekend to witness the most important day of his life. _Hey Mom and Dad, I'm crazy in love with Kurt, the most incredible guy I've ever met. _(_**you're much too young to possibly be in love, dear**_). He just _happens to be a prince_ (_**now dear, this is reality, not a fairy tale) **__Actually, Kurt is a prince of the Northern Eldari people_ (_**honey, you know there are no such things as elves, don't you?**_).

Yeah right! He couldn't risk telling them anything.

He and Kurt would begin their life together this weekend and maybe in a year or two his parents would figure out that Kurt was going to stay a permanent part of his life. And once he was done high school, what they thought about Kurt wouldn't matter. Blaine still hoped that he and Kurt would still go to college in New York and try to make their dreams reality, but now that Kurt had major family obligations, Blaine was coming to terms with the fact that it might not ever happen. He sighed in resignation. Every one of his dreams now included Kurt, so as long as he was part of his life, he could deal with whatever else happened. Maybe he could work on university courses part time.

Kurt squeezed his hand, silently asking him where he had gone. Blaine smiled to say he was back. They stood looking at each other like a couple of lovesick dolts, waiting in the darkened field under the stars. The helicopter dropped out of the sky looking like a giant dragonfly and the guard opened the door, waiting for them. They climbed on board and buckled themselves in, before they returned the pilot's welcoming greeting and soon the night was rushing beneath them, as their faces were lit only by the green lights of the control panel. Kurt looked at Blaine's profile looking out the windows and decided his life had taken a severely surreal turn that Friday night in the parking lot. By next weekend he and Blaine, the boy he had an unrequited crush on a mere two months ago, would be joined in a lifelong bond as partners.

They both found themselves staring at each other, all that week in school, contemplating the events of the upcoming weekend. Nick nudged Blaine with a smirking grin. "You've got it bad for him, don't you?" he whispered.

Blaine nodded with a shrug, conceding he was right. "Yeah. Like, forever bad." Nick's eyes widened in surprise, then his hand came around Blaine's shoulders in a congratulatory hug to tell him he was happy for him. Nick was a really good guy. He wished he could ask his friends to attend the ceremony, especially if he couldn't have his family there, but he knew the risk of exposure was too high. Kurt's people had survived this long because they knew how to keep their mouths shut. He wasn't going to blow it for them, even if he felt like he would be all alone next weekend, except for Kurt.

He felt Nick's arm leave his shoulders and heard him whisper "oh oh", and looked over to him to see him smiling apologetically at Kurt, who was glaring at him ferociously. Blaine smiled at Kurt, to let him know Nick was innocent of anything he needed to worry about. Kurt nodded at Nick slowly, letting him know he was keeping an eye on him, then his eyes fastened on Blaine, with a special smile they both knew the meaning of.

"Oh my god, you two!" Wes exclaimed, exasperated. "We need you to focus on rehearsals and I'd bet neither of you has heard a word I've said for the last fifteen minutes, have you?"

Kurt shook his head, confessing his inattention. How was he supposed to concentrate when he knew he and Blaine were supposed to make love this weekend, in only three more days? "Sorry Wes." He offered a muttered apology, but he wasn't really very sorry at all.

Jeff chuckled at him, but stopped when Kurt glanced at him warningly, though his blue eyes continued to flash with humour. Jeff had asked how the weekend had gone when they'd come back and Kurt had caved and confessed that he and Blaine were being bonded on the following weekend. It was gratifying to see his open mouthed shock changing into heartfelt congratulations. There were so few people he could tell about the most momentous day of their lives. He dearly wished he could ask Mercedes to come be his groom's maid, but that idea had been immediately quashed by his grandmother. There were already more than enough humans attending, as far as she was concerned.

"Yeah, right." Wes said, disbelievingly. "Kurt, you stand over here. Blaine, you're over there. If you can't see each other, maybe you could pay attention for five minutes at a time. Sheesh! I'm happy for you both, but seriously, dudes, how are we supposed to practice when our lead is forever busy staring at you with bedroom eyes? Everlasting devotion is not the mood we're going for here, guys." Wes sighed dramatically and lined everyone up again and they started from the top. Blaine managed to pay attention for a while, until they broke for a rest room break. When he returned, he and Kurt were unobtrusively holding hands again with their sides pressed together, which was as far as they could go in the public rooms. Wes ignored them, as long as they paid attention.

Once they had their rehearsal song come together Blaine asked a favour of the group. He wanted to know if they could do "What Makes You Beautiful". Blaine sang the song to Kurt, while he blushed with pleasure and his smile beamed from his eyes and every other part of him glowed happily. The guys indulged Blaine, gradually going from serious to an over the top sappy serenade to Kurt. By the end of the song, the whole roomful of guys was telling Kurt he was beautiful, which seemed perfectly understandable to Blaine. He took his hands, dancing him into his arms and spun him out and then back in again, ending the song with a kiss, as the Warblers sang their nah nah's. Jeff took a picture of them laughing into each other's eyes afterward, hoping one day he would bond with someone and feel that kind of devotion.

Jeff thought that they made a perfect couple, even if Blaine was human. He knew he loved Kurt to distraction, and what more could you ask for? Dalton's acceptance policies were rubbing off on him, so he considered the boys he went to school with as good friends, every bit as worthy as any elf. Nick and he were close enough friends that he was considering telling him why he couldn't take him home to visit, to reciprocate for the time he'd gone to Nick's house over spring break.

Both boys found it very hard to focus on homework, when they both knew what was coming closer by the minute. Blaine suggested they hold off on making out for the rest of the week, since that was the only way they were going to get anything done. It was too tempting to even consider getting into anything now that he knew was going to be allowed to touch…to do much _more_ than just touch, Kurt.

Friday eventually arrived and the Warbler practice seemed interminable until they learned Jeff had a surprise planned for them, that made them both grin like idiots. Nick, Trent, Luke, and Zac had all prepared the choreography, and the rest of the guys had helped him prepare the arrangement of the song for them. Jeff sang the lead, his first ever, and did a pretty great job, though it was meant to be funny.

Tell Him

_I know something about love,_

_You gotta want it bad_

_If that guy's got into your blood_

_Go out and get him_

_If you want him to be the very heart of you_

_That makes you want to breath_

_Here's the thing to do_

_Tell him that you're never gonna leave him_

_Tell him that you're always gonna love him_

_Tell him, tell him, tell him right now_

_I know something about love_

_You gotta show it_

_And make him see the moon up above_

_Reach out and get it_

_If you want him to make your heart sing out_

_And if you want him to think only of you…_

_Tell him that you're never gonna leave him_

_Tell him that you're always gonna love him_

_Tell him, tell him, tell him right now._

_Ever since the world began_

_It's been that way_

_For man and his lover were created_

_To make love their destiny_

_Then why should true love be so complicated?_

_Tell him that you're never gonna leave him_

_Tell him that you're always gonna love him_

_Tell him, tell him, tell him right now._

_I know something about love_

_You gotta take and show him what the world is made of_

_One kiss will prove it_

_If you want him to be always by your side_

_Take his hand tonight and swallow your foolish pride and_

_Tell him that you're never gonna leave him_

_Tell him that you're always gonna love him_

_Tell him, tell him, tell him right now._

Kurt was touched at Jeff's clever message. He knew that after they were bonded this weekend he was never gonna leave Blaine, and Blaine was never gonna leave him. He hugged the blond haired boy tightly afterward, thanking him for his endorsement of their relationship, with Jeff quietly whispering his congratulations into his ear, and that he would be watching the ceremony. It meant a lot to Kurt to know Jeff accepted his choice of mate. Now if only the rest of his people were as accepting, he would be set.

Blaine told his parent's that he was going to Kurt's house again, which garnered only a reflexive response. His mother asked if he was sure the Hummel's didn't mind him always around, but it wasn't as if they would miss him or anything. He told the truth when he explained they were going to the Hummels for Friday night dinner but this time it was a special family celebration of Kurt and Blaine's wedding, that they would celebrate, though without Finn knowing the reason for it. His presence at the ceremony had been vetoed by Kiala when she learned he could blurt things sometimes. They had decided after a short discussion to leave Finn unenlightened about his step-brother's close call with disaster and his true identity. He wouldn't be told that Kurt and Blaine would be permanently bonded this weekend either. He tended to be terrible at keeping secrets and they all knew it, so why even go there?

A wedding was exactly how Burt thought of the bonding ceremony, though it was more than that to the Elvian peoples. His father also knew Kurt was also being presented as the heir to Kiala's throne, but he didn't care so much about that. It was the two boys being 'married' that he was excited about.

Burt had been sworn to secrecy when he and Blaine had been taken home, the morning after Kurt's abduction, though Kiala had given Burt permission to include Kurt's stepmother as a bonding guest, since she could keep a secret. Burt sat her down that night and told Carole all about how he'd found Kurt years ago in Alaska, and that he'd been kidnapped as assassins when they'd gotten a panicked phone call from Blaine. She was a little sceptical at first, not surprisingly. It still sounded preposterous to Burt, and he'd _been_ there. But tomorrow, Carole was going with him and the two boys, first to the lake compound, then to another location which would remain undisclosed for safety's sake, where both ceremonies would take place

As far as Finn knew, the boys were going to Blaine's house the next day and Burt and Carole were going on an overnight trip to Columbus for dinner and a show. Right now, he and Rachel were on again, so they were going on a date and then Puck was coming over to spend rest of the night afterward to play video games, one of which Kurt noticed was called the Lord of the Rings. Kurt read the back and decided he should try playing it with Blaine as an Elf character. It was sort of irresistible, wasn't it?

Dinner at the Hummel's that night consisted of a selection of Kurt's favourites, which still tended toward the vegetable side, since he retained the typical Eldari preference for a mainly vegetarian diet. Blaine loved Italian and Thai and Greek cooking, none of which focused mainly on meat, so now that he knew Kurt and he would be lifetime partners, that sort of thing seemed more important. He still couldn't believe his amazing boyfriend had chosen him as his life partner.

Burt cleared his throat, once again interrupting the loving gaze between Blaine and Kurt. He raised his glass of champagne in a toast. The boys all raised their glasses with sparkling cider in them and waited patiently. "I want to make a toast to loving relationships. They are rare and precious, so when you find one you should cherish it. May yours be long and loving too." He touched Carole's glass before he drank some of the wine, but shared a secret smile with the two boys, so obviously in love. He was ridiculously happy for Kurt who had reconnected with his heritage and found his true love, at the tender age of seventeen.

Finn presumed Burt was getting mushy about marrying his mother again, and quickly took a sip of cider before he started serving the food onto his plate, noticing Kurt and his boyfriend were drooling over each other again, like ridiculously. My god, where was the meat in this meal? Kurt ate like a damned rabbit, and now Blaine was just as bad. Who got excited about vegetable lasagne and salad? Well, actually his girlfriend did, who was just as bad. Whatever. It was food and it was hot. He sighed and tucked in.

Blaine and Kurt shared a loving smile and touched their glasses to each other's and then to Burt and Carole's, ignoring Finn, who had no idea what an important weekend this was for them. Blaine slept in the guest room that night, knowing that the next night would be spent with Kurt. He didn't think he'd sleep much, but by midnight he was out of it, stacking zees. Kurt lay awake for several hours longer, thinking about his future as a husband, parent and potential ruler. And the next night when he and Blaine would take the first step as husbands, sealing their lifelong bond. God, he hoped he wouldn't mess this up...it was too important to not get it right.

The next morning Blaine woke about nine and went downstairs to find Carole packed and ready to go. He knew they weren't due to show up at the airport until noon, so he presumed she was just nervous. They shared a sympathetic smile. Burt had gone into the shop for a couple hours, to prevent his bumping around the house waiting for the morning to be over, but he said he would be back around ten thirty. Blaine sat on the couch writing in a note book, while Carole did laundry and secretly wrapped a wedding present in her room.

Kurt woke at eleven, and shrieked in jaw-dropping horror at the time on his clock. What the hell had happened to his alarm for 9:30?! Why hadn't anyone woken him? Actually, his father had secretly turned off his alarm clock when he'd left that morning at seven, having gone into his son's room to watch him sleep for a bit. He looked so young, with one hand over his head and the other lying over his chest in an unconscious echo of his people's sign of respect.

He loved that kid so much, and felt incredibly grateful for how much Kurt had enriched his life. He knew his son probably didn't sleep much that night because of his pre-wedding nerves and decided to ensure he was well rested for the next day…and night. He raised his shoulders uncomfortably, when he thought about him and Blaine together like that, but he could tell how much the two boys loved each other. They would be fine. He had to remember that Kurt was an adult in his culture, though he still thought of him as his little boy.

Burt remembered his own wedding nights, the first when he wasn't much older than Kurt was now. They'd had no idea what they were doing either, but they loved each other so much, it didn't matter. His second wedding only two years ago, was blessed just as much by love, though this time they both knew what they were getting into. He was still so nervous that first night, even though he and Carole had already slept together. He was pretty sure Kurt was completely inexperienced and Blaine too. He decided he should talk to Blaine and Kurt about sex, to answer any questions he could. He was still Kurt's father, and about to be Blaine's too.

Burt found Blaine writing industriously in his notebook when he got back from the shop. He sat down and inhaled deeply, before he awkwardly asked him if he knew what the hell he was doing, when it came to sex. Blaine blushed beet red, and stared at his knees when he responded, saying he had done some research on the internet, but hadn't had any actual personal experience. Burt was happy to hear it, in a way, but it helped, if at least one of them knew what to do. He awkwardly gave Blaine a selection of the pamphlets he'd saved from the talk with Kurt, hoping they helped. God, he'd never dreamed he'd have to do this again.

At least Kurt and he had already had 'the talk', so he presumed Blaine and Kurt would figure it out as they went along. Burt swallowed hard before he told his future son in law that he had done some research too, so if he had any questions he would do his best to answer them. Blaine continued to stare at his knees, appreciating how difficult this must be for Burt. He raised his eyes to him and said a heartfelt thank you, but that he figured he was good with what they had. Burt let out a breath in relief, just before they heard Kurt shriek in horror.

Blaine knew Burt hadn't been informed about the differences in Eldari and Human physiognomy yet and Blaine certainly wasn't going to be the one to fill him in. All Blaine knew was that Kurt had to top, or they risked getting him pregnant. Neither of them was ready for that yet, so no matter their personal preferences that was how it was going to be. Blaine was perfectly happy with that for now, though some day, he hoped to reverse their roles. But hell, he was seventeen, so sex of any description sounded fantastic to him.

"He's up." Burt announced redundantly with a grin. Blaine chuckled with him. It wasn't as if the helicopter would leave without Kurt, if they were a few minutes late.

Blaine went upstairs and reassured Kurt that they had lots of time to get ready, assuming he could go to his room when Kurt wasn't dressed, if they were being bonded later that day. "Go ahead and take your shower and I'll go make you some breakfast for when you come down. Just yell down the stairs while you're getting dressed so I can time it properly. Do you want toaster waffles, or cereal?" Kurt stopped running in three directions and took a second to kiss his boyfriend. His level calmness was just what he needed right then.

"Thank you, but I don't think I can eat _anything _right now. Let me get ready and I'll see you in a few. Have I told you I love you lately?" Kurt's arms went around Blaine's neck and they shared a loving kiss, the time be damned. He sighed and let Blaine hold him, feeling the stress melting away. Blaine pulled back after a minute or two, kissed his nose, and smacked his butt toward the bathroom.

"Move it, sweetheart. We've got places to be this afternoon, and I'm not standing up there with you unless you're put together properly. We have an image to uphold, you know." He left the room grinning, as Kurt began to spaz out again, worrying about what people would think of the outfit he planned to wear. Hopefully Blaine wouldn't wear that bow tie with short sleeves and a vest he currently had on. He loved the look, but it made him look like The Beaver's little brother, instead of a royal consort.

Just as Kurt was ready to leave his phone rang with Mercedes ring tone. He knew they were all waiting for him downstairs, but he refused to miss her call, especially today. He'd hardly seen her for the last few weeks, from being so busy at the lake compound every weekend. "Hey girl." He answered with a smile in his voice.

She giggled, pleased she'd caught him up and conscious so early. She had expected to leave a message for him to call her back later. "Hey boy" she answered back, with their usual greeting. "Where the hell you been lately, Kurt. I can't pry you out of that boy's clutches today for a little shopping, can I?" She asked him hopefully to spend some time with her. They hadn't been shopping together in weeks, and she was suffering some serious Hummel withdrawal.

Kurt's heart gave a clutch. "I'm sorry but not this weekend, 'Cedes. There are some important things I have to do today and tomorrow." She didn't respond, but he could hear her disappointment in the answering silence.

"With Blaine?" She asked him who he would be with, trying not to sound bitchy. She was happy they loved each other, but geeze, she really missed her best friend. The silence from his end answered her just as loudly as hers had.

"Can we set something up for next Friday night, with just the two of us, Mercedes? I need some girl time, with my best girl. I might have a secret to share with you, if you swear never to tell a soul." Kurt knew he could trust her. She had never shared anything he'd confessed to her, about his crush on Finn, or when he'd been threatened by Karofsky. He was going to tell her where he'd been spending his weekends, and maybe one day, she could even come visit him there. He had to give up so much, giving up his best friend was one thing he wasn't willing to lose.

"Sure. You know I'll take whatever I can get. I miss you too baby. Have a nice day with your boyfriend." She put all the sincerity she could muster into it, but it still sounded a wee bit resentful.

"Mercedes? Could you do something for me? Could you wish me luck, today?" His voice sounded so wistful, that Mercedes stopped short, about to hang up the phone.

"What's up honey? Is there something scary going on today? Can't you tell me what you're worried about?" She fired questions at him, frightened that he wasn't willing to share why he was worried.

"No, everything is gonna be just fine, honey. I just wish you could be there too, that's all. We're having a family thing, with Blaine. You know." He inferred it was Blaine's family that was the problem. She knew his family wasn't terribly fond of Kurt being his boyfriend, so she nodded understandingly.

"Good luck, then. Everybody will love you…or I will _bust_ their asses for you. You just tell them that, Kurt Hummel. You got people in your corner, don't forget." Kurt chuckled at her, and turned to see Carole standing with her hands spread out in a silent question about what was keeping him.

"I have to go now, Cedes. They're all waiting for me. Thank you, honey. I'll tell them they have Mercedes Jones to deal with, if anybody gives me any hassles. Bye, and I'll see you Friday night after dinner." He made a mwah sound and they disconnected. He grabbed the phone and his overnight case and followed Carole to the car and got in beside Blaine. He took his hand and sighed, as ready to face the day as he could be.

Carole was awed by the helicopter ride, especially since she got to sit in the front seat usually reserved for the co-pilot. With the four of them and their luggage, the guard had been bumped again. Less than an hour later they arrived at the lake compound. They were escorted into the house where Kiala waited to greet them. She tapped her chest and bowed her head to Burt and Carole and then less formally, to Kiert and Blaine, giving the elders their due respect, as was customary. They all returned the gesture gracefully, even Carole since she had been practicing with Burt in preparation for this moment. Oh my, she was meeting a real queen!

Kiala's assistant showed them to their rooms, with Blaine's things being carried to Kurt's room to allow them both to prepare for the ceremony. It was that action that gave Blaine a lump in his throat. It was only a small thing, but it illustrated that his position in this family was soon going to change forever. He was going to become Kurt's lifelong partner and a part of the ruling family of a people he hadn't even known existed outside of the Lord of the Rings movies. Burt noticed his hesitation and put an encouraging hand on his shoulder, with his half smile saying he had confidence in him. Then he was over it, and it was just him and Kurt, about to go on stage to give a performance again.

And then they would be bonded for the rest of their lives as partners.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. My life has gotten crazy busy in the last two months. The story is complete and will be updated until its finished. This is the chapter describing their bonding. Its a long one, so settle into your favorite chair and enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 8 The Biggest Day…and night of Kurt's Life**

During the week they had been away at Dalton, Kiala's men had been busy in Kurt's suite. The room's furniture had been rearranged, with the regular-sized bed swapped for a king size one and a fully stocked mini-fridge installed. (though it was only stocked with juices and water, Blaine saw with some disappointment, when he checked it out, hoping for some champagne or something.)

Another wardrobe, already hung with several sets of Eldari style clothing in soft greens and blues had been added, and the bathroom had been overhauled to provide more amenities for two inhabitants instead of one, with more towel bars and another cabinet for personal products. The lighting had been augmented to provide a wider range of lighting from a bright reading light over a double lounge chair to subtle romantic backlighting and there were several flower arrangements and a fruit basket and chocolates set around the room. It looked more like a honeymoon suite now, instead of just a bedroom.

Blaine had never set foot into Kurt's suite before, so he looked around, interested in seeing the luxurious facilities that his boyfriend enjoyed, and then went to the window to check out the view of the lake. Kurt was worried about far more than their presentation and the bonding ceremony. Both of the ceremonies would be transmitted over the internet, encrypted and password protected, so the rest of his nation could watch from whatever remote settlement they lived in, which in itself should have been intimidating enough. What he was also concerned about, was the complete change in his life this day would mark.

Kurt watched Blaine wandering around his room, suddenly realizing he would be sharing his bedroom with Blaine from now on. It would be a big adjustment for him, to share his private space, when his bedroom had always felt like his safe haven. It was the one place where he didn't have to care what his hair looked like or if his t-shirt had a hole, where he could vent his feelings by singing his face off, if he felt like it.

The vague discomfort only lasted until he realized that he would be sharing it with the man he loved, who would undoubtedly learn every intimate detail about him. Blaine and he would no longer be facing the world alone after this day. He hoped it wasn't too big a shock for his partner, when he saw the _real_ Kurt Hummel, without the perfect hair, the fabulous outfits and the icy cool demeanor he assumed, to face the world. Blaine was watching him closely, and saw Kurt's pensive expression. "Hey, are you getting nervous? " He asked, coming closer to hold him, and nuzzle his cheek, offering comfort.

Kurt snuggled into his arms gratefully. "I guess I just realized I won't have anywhere to hide away anymore. You're going to see all of me, with my warts and blemishes and bad hair days. Just remember, you're stuck with me after today, no matter what, alright?" Kurt smiled a wavering nervous smile, worrying whether Blaine would still love him once he knew the real Kurt. What if he's turned off by this transsexual thing? He won't have an Eldari bond holding him here, so he could leave anytime. What if he was terrible at making love? He abandoned thinking about how he was supposed to accomplish what he had to do tonight, or he was going to go crazy.

Blaine grabbed his shoulders, his golden eyes targeting his.

"Hey! Stop that, Kurt! I... _Love_**… **You_!_ And I always will. There is nothing you could do to make me desert you, so remember that. You're stuck with me too." Blaine grinned, kissing Kurt quickly before he held him close, feeling the anxiety drain out of him again. Kurt exhaled in relief, consoled and reassured again. How did Blaine always know how to say the right things? They smiled at each other, reassured that their love would get them through anything.

Kurt saw the silver-wrapped parcel from his parents on the dresser, and went to open it with Blaine looking over his shoulder. Inside was one of those scrapbook photo albums, entitled 'Our Journey Together Begins'. The first page was titled 'Where We Met' and already had a photo of the two of them in their Dalton Blazers smiling at each other. The next was 'We're Engaged!' and held a picture of the two of them from the night before, staring at each other with sappy smiles. The next page was headed, 'We are Joined Together' and waited for a photo, just like the rest of the pages beyond. They shared another sappy smile, realizing this was only the beginning of their lives together.

Kurt put the album down and then noticed, laid out on the bed, two suits of clothing, one in the blue and silver favoured by the Northern Elves and the other in shades of green and gold. It was obvious which suit was for whom. Kurt was slightly taken aback, not realizing that he would be wearing something other than his own clothes. That state uniform had better fit him properly or he was going to put up a god-awful stink. A good outfit made all the difference in his confidence, but he supposed he should try it on first.

They now had less than an hour to prepare before they were supposed to congregate again, to transfer to where the ceremonies would take place. Blaine knew Kurt could be super-intense about his appearance, so it was time to start getting ready. "Do you want to shower again, honey? Maybe I could go first, so you can take your time." Kurt nodded gratefully, appreciating Blaine's consideration.

Kurt's fingers tapped the ultra-control gel in Blaine's glossy smooth hair. "Would you do me a really big favour? Could you leave the curls looser? I love when I can run my fingers through them."

Blaine's lips lifted in a reluctant smile. He almost protested, reluctant to make his first appearance in front of Kurt's people with his hair fluffy and frivolous, but then decided that he would leave it the way Kurt liked it. It was his day to shine, and Blaine was willing to do whatever he could to make him happy. He nodded in agreement, and left him with another quick kiss, scooping up his outfit on the way to the bathroom. It only took an extra minute or two in a quick shower to rinse the gel out.

Blaine redressed carefully, pleased to find the loden green state uniform was perfectly tailored to his body and very comfortable. He fingered the fabric, and decided it was some kind of plant fibre, a cross between linen and a viscose, but without the wrinkles. The side-fastened overwrapped jacket was decorated with a crest, done in a combination of silver and gold on a background banner of gold with a silver stripe in the centre that ran across his body from his left shoulder to his right hip, with the crest centred over his heart. Blaine approved of the semi-military style, without the heavy, itchy feel of wool most uniforms were made of. He applied a light dab of gel to prevent frizz, leaving his curls relaxed and loose then inhaled deeply as he stood in front of the bathroom door. He opened it quickly for the big reveal to Kurt, who was unpacking his bag, but turned when he heard the door. He stopped short, with his mouth opened in admiration and whistled appreciatively, making Blaine pirouette to flaunt a bit. He ended with his arms out-flung and a giant smile. "Looks good, doesn't it? We are going to make a great impression when we stand side by side."

Kurt agreed, knowing he always felt more confident in a great outfit. He was very glad he would have Blaine there beside him, looking so amazing. At first he'd been disappointed that he couldn't wear the clothes he had chosen, but this uniform was far more appropriate for a state occasion, something like when the British Prince had married his Lady Kate. He grabbed his overnight case and his outfit and retreated to the bathroom for his own transformation. Blaine murmured that he would meet him out in the main reception room, and went to show off to Kiala and the Hummels.

The Queen was very impressed with Blaine's appearance. It was no coincidence that the colour of his uniform was the favoured colour of the Southern Sylvan Eldari's state apparel, subtlely inferring by his attire that he was one of them. If she couldn't bond Kurt to a southern elf, then Blaine would have to stand in, and symbolize one. Luckily, Blaine's appearance tended toward a classic southern elf, with his compact stature, his olive colouring and especially those topaz eyes. No one was going to actually state that Blaine was entitled to wear Sylvan Eldari state garments, but the combination of both nation's traditional clothing was done intentionally to symbolize Kiala' hope for a gradual amalgamation between their two nations. Kurt was well known to be half southern so he was definitely was entitled to wear the new crest on his jacket, that was a blend of the northern silver and southern gold, as Blaine would also be, as his mate.

Kurt rejoined them a half hour later looking positively breathtaking, especially when he stood next to his fiancé, confirming that she'd chosen their clothing well. Before they left, she opened a bottle of a special vintage she had saved, to offer a solemn wish that Kurt and Blaine's union be blessed by happiness, long healthy lives and many children. The boys and the adults found it faintly spicy and fruity, tasting of summer and sunshine. They all finished their glasses, before they prepared to leave and felt the warm glow in their blood afterward.

The helicopter was only able to carry four or five passengers, at maximum, so Burt and Carole were transferred first, along with two guards from a special unit designated to provide protection for Kurt and Blaine. They would do a last minute check of their destination and when they were cleared, Kurt, Blaine and Kiala would fly in. Their arrival would be telecast by cameras so they were briefed on what to do, as they flew.

The flight was only ten minutes, the helicopter landing in an open area, near a field dense with bystanders. Kurt craned out the window and smiled in amusement at a large banner, visible from the entrance to the park-like private residence, displaying the phrase, "Welcome to the Elveson Family Reunion!" He supposed it was a family reunion of sorts, and it made for a good cover for Big Brother, watching on satellites.

The whirlybird landed and all three glanced to the others, before disembarking, each aware of how very important this moment was. Kiala smiled and mouthed "you'll be fine" to both of them, in encouragement. Blaine inhaled and went into performance mode, becoming cool and remote ,as if he was merely watching the dark curly haired boy and his chestnut-haired partner, from somewhere off stage. He reached for Kurt's hand as they stood outside the craft and waited for Kiala to join them.

They walked forward together, away from the wash of the rotors blowing their hair around, onto a dark blue carpet runner leading to a staged area. That was when the roar of the audience penetrated to them. The hundreds of people in attendance were roaring and clapping their approval at their appearance. Kurt raised his right hand tentatively and waved to them, after smoothing his hair down self-consciously, a bit overwhelmed, and Blaine followed his example with his left, and heard the crowd-noise surge even louder in response.

Blaine made sure that he followed Kurt's lead, trying to remain his shadow in the background. This was Kurt's shining moment, and he was here mostly as his supporting cast. They reached the end of the carpet and climbed the steps to the stage, and then turned to lookout over the crowd, noticing the cameras for the first time as they moved in closer. In the front row of the audience sat Burt and Carole, both looking overcome with pride and emotion.

Kurt glanced to Blaine and they smiled at each other animatedly, their thrilled expressions caught in glorious close-up detail by the cameras. After a few minutes, an older man in Eldari clothing, with a long over robe in navy signifying his status as an elder, raised a hand authoritatively to ask the crowd for silence. After thirty or forty seconds the crowd noise tapered to a low buzz, as comments about them were whispered among the audience.

The elder raised a microphone to his face and spoke ponderously. "Thank you for welcoming the royal family so warmly. May I introduce to you, our Sapphire Throne's ruler, _Melda tari Kiala (our _beloved Queen Kiala_)_." He turned and faded back as Kiala moved forward, to more applause. She bowed her head and touched the silver crest on her beautiful blue and silver gown, looking regal and ethereal. She had been wearing a cloak until just before the moment they took to the stage and it wasn't until now that everyone saw how resplendent she was. A circlet of silver set with Sapphires adorned her thick silver hair, arranged up in artful waves. It took a few more moments until she had enough quiet to speak.

(Eldari translations from )

"Le suilon Eldari! Le nathlam hi (I greet you my people. You are welcome here) Ela! Henig, Kiert (Behold, the child of my blood, Kiert)"

"I will continue my address in English, so that all can easily understand. Today, I present to you the child of my daughter, Kyria and her partner Davi, of the Southern Sylvan Eldari, and for the last several years, the ward of Burt, of the neutral territory between our people. Please give your welcome greeting to Kiert, the next heir to the Sapphire Throne of the Eldari."

Kiala turned and gestured to Kurt, who walked to her side amid renewed enthusiastic applause from the crowds. He bowed his head reverently and touched his hand to the crest on his chest and then smiled into the cameras, waiting for the noise to abate. "Le Suilon eldari! I hope that means, 'Greetings Eldari'. Unfortunately, that pretty much exhausts my grasp of the Elvian language. Thank you for your warm welcome on my return to my people. I have a great deal more to learn from my Queen and other learned elders before I am competent enough to follow her, so we will all hope for many more years of her leadership. In the meantime, I will learn all that I can to ensure our people maintain the vitality we need to survive."

Kurt stepped back again, and listened to the crowd's applause, with relief. There was an undercurrent of buzzing underneath, as the crowd discussed his words. He sensed a cautious approval.

Kiala stepped forward again and waited until the crowd quieted again. "I am also pleased to introduce Blaine, the consort of Kiert, son of Gareth and Helena. He and my grandson will be bonded today, in a ceremony to be witnessed by all of you. May they be blessed in their bonding, with strong and wise children to follow them as great leaders, after their age of ruling is past."

A new buzz of discussion rose as Blaine took his place next to Kurt. This was a complete surprise to everyone, and they wondered who he was, hopefully making conjectures from his appearance. He bowed to Kiala, touched the crest over his heart and then took Kurt's hand. They smiled at each other lovingly and then both looked into the crowd and the cameras. Anyone could see the love evident in their eyes, and the crowd roared their approval again despite their wondering about Blaine's antecedents. Could Kiert's consort be from the south? Is that why he was dressed like that?

They could hear the murmur of their questions, even on the stage. Everyone could see the crests on their chests were different from Kiala's in colour and form, an amalgamation of the southern and northern nations. Were their leaders ready to discard the centuries of bitterness and rejoin into a stronger more resilient nation? It seemed so.

Approval could be heard rising like a fog above the crowd. Kiala smiled in satisfaction, pleased with the success of her plan. She knew the Sylvan leaders were watching this ceremony too, because she had sent them a personal invitation. Hopefully they were impressed with her effort to reach out to them, to cease the constant competition for position, and work together instead to make the Elvian people more stable.

The two boys stepped back to face each other, standing in the centre of a painted swirl of rainbow colours meant to symbolize their separate lives blending into one, while another elder took the stage, facing the crowd between them. Burt and Carole were escorted up to the stage, to take their place as Kurt and Blaine's family. They stood on Blaine's right side while Kiala stood on Kurt's left. The elder opened an old and weighty book, holding the written record of the long lineage of the royal family and laid the time-faded blue ribbon down the spine. Their names were already written in it, in beautiful curling script, listing them as the newest couple in the royal lineage, beneath Kurt's mother's and father's names.

Kurt and Blaine joined both their hands, as the camera closed in to catch every word and expression. The elder began to intone in sonorous Eldari, none of which either boy understood a word. Another elder standing near them, softly murmured a translation into a microphone for the audience and for them, as he spoke the words clearly.

"_Kiert, son of Davi and Kyria and Blaine, son of Gareth and Helene, have stated their wish to be bonded, so in this place, and before these witnesses, we declare them joined. May their hearts and bodies remain linked forever. All those who approve of their joining may give a sign of their support to them, in whatever way seems best to them, to wish you a lifetime of happiness and satisfaction together. It is done."_

The elder looked up from his book and smiled at them, and then stepped back again. He wasn't so old that he had forgotten his happiness when he had been joined to his lovely partner. The boys leaned close in a formal embrace until their cheeks were touching, though they didn't kiss. Kissing in public was never proper among the Eldari people, and most certainly not in such a formal atmosphere. They separated again, and were hugged in turn by Kiala and Burt and Carole. No doubt, the audience assumed that the strangers beside him must be Blaine's unknown family, since they certainly weren't part of the royal family. The crowd showed their approval by clapping rhythmically and chanting their best wishes in the traditional joining blessing, enthusiastically approving.

It was over. The relief hit Kurt like an icy bucket of water. He could feel the tension draining out of him when the cameras followed them, filming them filing off the stage to be transported back to the compound. Within half an hour they were back at the lakeside preparing for a celebratory feast. It was only then that Kurt realized he really hadn't eaten much of anything yet today and that he was starving. That was probably why his legs felt a little rubbery and shaky.

Blaine put on a good show of composure but Kurt could tell the afternoon had been intimidating for him too. He couldn't seem to let go of Kurt's hand all the way back to the compound, holding it tightly in a clench until Kurt requested it back with an understanding smile, to eat with. The whole day seemed very surreal to the dark haired boy, like a scene in a play, not really his life. When he looked at Kurt he still saw his boyfriend, not some prince he was now bonded to for the rest of his life. He wondered when the impact of what he'd just done was going to hit him.

Dinner was surprisingly relaxed and friendly, after the decorous formality of the ceremony. The food tasted wonderful, with everyone chattering about how the crowd sounded and how well everything seemed to go. Kiala and Carole discussed one of the recipes, like anybody's relatives did at a family dinner. Kurt tuned out Burt and Blaine discussing the Buckeyes and then checked back in when Blaine asked Burt about whether he should change his exhaust system or wait till next year and maybe get another car instead. Kurt mocked Blaine's car, saying if cars could be gay, his Prius would be, which made Blaine comment snidely on Kurt's Navigator, the most macho of vehicles, asking what he was trying to say. They all laughed and talked, relaxed and happy until they were nearly done, when Kiala asked the servers to pour another glass of the wonderful liqueur she had served earlier. They all raised their glasses as Kiala stood to offer her blessing to the boys.

"I wish to give my official approval to your bonding, Kiert and Blaine. It's customary for the head of the family to give a gift to help the new couple prepare their new home. You already have several homes, so today, my gift to you is time. I will endeavor to keep the throne safe and secure, while you both go and live the life you want to live among the humans. I ask only that you do the best you can for your people. And incidentally, a house full of children wouldn't hurt either." She sat down to a chorus of laughter.

Burt stood next, raising his glass too. "Kurt…Kiert. I never dreamed when I found you that this was going to be your destiny. I always knew you were headed for something a whole lot bigger than Lima, but …well this is way beyond anything I imagined. It's still no more than you can handle, though. You _got _this, son." Burt ducked his head to peer into Kurt's eyes, making him grin back at his father. "aaaand a bunch of grandchildren wouldn't hurt." He added quickly, moving on before Kurt could react with more than a sputter, before he remembered that Burt must assume that they would use a surrogate. "And Blaine, Carole and I would like to welcome you to the Hudmel family. I never figured Kurt would be getting hitched this soon, but now that he has, I'm glad it's with you, kid. You're good people." Burt raised his glass to him, and drank. Blaine grinned, pleased at Burt's acknowledgement, and Kurt squeezed his hand, understanding how much it meant to him to be accepted by his father.

When they'd finished eating, Kiala put down her napkin and stood, signifying that dinner was over. It wasn't late yet, but Kurt and Blaine's bonding hadn't been completed yet. Their eyes met, Kurt's nerves rising again. "I'll ask to have the car sent around to take you to the helicopter. " Kiala smiled at Burt and Carole, then left the room to find her assistant, and everyone else stood to say their goodbyes. Burt hugged his son tightly, and then gathered Blaine into his arms for a hearty hug too. "You can call me dad too, if you want Blaine" he murmured to him.

Blaine glanced at Kurt, while he was still enveloped in Burt's clasp, looking overwhelmed with emotion. "Thanks, dad" He whispered softly, wishing he could someday have a hug like that from his own father. Carole hugged both boys, whispering that she loved them both. Then the Hummels were ushered out by Kiala and her assistant, leaving the boys to wave goodbye from the doorway. Kurt glanced at Blaine, nervous about what was coming next. The time he had been apprehensively anticipating and dreading was getting closer by the minute.

Kiala came back and gave them both a hug and wished them a good night too, then gently suggested it was time for them to retire. They glanced at each other, waiting to see who was going to make the first move toward their room. Blaine finally put out his hand for Kurt's and they went to their suite. Blaine noticed Kurt's hand was cold and clammy and suspected he was stressing about what he was supposed to do next.

The door closed behind them, and a huge thundering silence filed the room. Neither of them had any idea of how to get from fully dressed, standing inside the door, to the bed and then to what they both knew they were supposed to do. Kurt's face was wearing that freaked out look again, with his bottom lip being badly abused by his teeth. Blaine was nervous too, but seeing Kurt so worried almost broke his heart. He decided to distract him with something he was thinking of saving for tomorrow, but maybe now was the perfect time.

Blaine broke the silence. "Um Kurt, I was wondering if you, um… would you consider wearing my ring? I know Elves don't wear wedding rings or anything, but…" Blaine went to his overnight bag as he spoke, unzipped the side pocket, and pulled out a ring box. He popped open the top and showed it to Kurt, with an expression of hope that nearly undid Kurt, with tears coming to his eyes at Blaine's romantic gesture. He wiped his face, thinking this day seemed to see him shaking with nerves or in tears every other hour.

"Yes Blaine, I would love to wear your ring" he squeaked out, in a barely audible assent. Blaine pulled out a silver filigree ring set with a sapphire, and slid it onto Kurt's left third finger, and then pulled out the cardboard insert out of the box to display another ring just like it, set with a topaz and let Kurt slide it on his own ringer finger. Then Blaine kissed his partner, and suddenly everything was easy again.

They kissed for a few minutes, back in familiar territory again. Blaine felt Kurt's body against him, warm and inviting, and let his hands drift to the fastening of his jacket. He'd undone it and woven his hands underneath to hold Kurt closer when Kurt suddenly skittered away from him, with a nervous glance back at him.

"I should probably…ah…go change." Kurt stammered as he went to his bag and found his pajamas and retreated to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash, silently berating himself for running away from his mate. He needed to man up and return Blaine's romantic gesture of love, even if he had no idea what he was doing.

Kurt had always had a hard time letting go of his insecurities and the idea that he was supposed to take his clothes off and let Blaine see every inch of him was nearly giving him palpitations. He took a bracing breath, determined to see this through. It wasn't as if he didn't _want_ to make love with his boyfriend…partner. _Hell _no, he did… he really,_ really_ did. He just had to get past a lifetime of hiding his vulnerability behind layers and layers of clothes. It was time to unwrap and let Blaine see into the deepest part of his heart.

He hung the suit on the hanger it came on and quickly showered again before he changed to his pajamas, refusing to acknowledge the reason he took so much care. Once his teeth were brushed he still had his facial regimen to do, but he decided to do that in the main room while Blaine changed, trying to be fair, now that they had to share a bathroom, and brought his suit out with him.

He re-entered the bedroom to find Blaine had already changed into his sleep pants and a t-shirt, and was re-hanging his own outfit. Blaine gave him a warm smile as he passed him on the way to the bathroom, making Kurt exhale in relief, that he didn't seem disappointed with him for running out on him. God, how was he ever going to…oh lord. He couldn't even _say_ it inside his head. How was he supposed to _do_ it? He had hardly begun his facial routine before Blaine was back, casually glancing at him as he made his way to the enormous bed they would share from now on.

"Which side do you want? I usually sleep on the right side, but I'm good with either." Blaine was starting to look a little nervous too, Kurt noticed, when he watched him closer. He was talking too fast and didn't look at him, when he talked.

"The left side is fine for me, thank you." Kurt said in a low voice, wiping off the cleanser and dabbing on the moisturizer, wondering why they were acting like nothing unusual was going on and they were just having a sleep over. Blaine nodded silently and climbed into the bed, casually punched up his pillow and then lay down, pulling the covers up neatly to his chest. He smiled at Kurt nervously, acknowledging this was kind of weird for him too. He patted the bed beside him, in a silent invitation of welcome, with a raised eyebrow of entreaty. Kurt had a fleeting urge to stall him again, but knew he was only delaying the inevitable.

He swallowed hard and screwed the lids back on the bottles and then slowly went to his side of the bed, folding the covers back and sitting down, before he tucked his feet under the covers and laid down stiffly with the covers under his arms. Both of them were lying on their backs, not a foot from each other, wishing this was easier.

"We don't have to do anything tonight, if you're not ready, Kurt." Blaine whispered softly, turning his face to him to look at him with those big brown eyes, before his long lashes swept his cheeks. Then he looked down to his toes and wiggled them, trying to act as if he didn't care one way or the other. He was offering Kurt a rain-check, half hoping he would take it, though he had looked forward to this night with barely contained excitement for every minute since he'd heard it was going to happen.

Kurt glanced into his eyes, seeing his understanding and the glint of hope he was trying to hide behind that. He appreciated his partner's consideration but he disagreed with putting it off any longer.

"Blaine, this is too important to our future, to let this night pass without consummating our bond. Tomorrow, we're back at Dalton again and I doubt it will be any easier next weekend. It's just... I really have to make sure I do it right the first time, or I might mess up our bond forever. I wish I knew what the hell I was doing. I read about some stuff, and Timon spent an hour or two talking about bonding, but…how do I even know for sure if it works the same for you and I, as it does for most couples? I always assumed I'd have time to gradually get accustomed to being intimate before we got this far. I mean, even kissing you still feels new and amazing. We haven't gotten to second or third base yet, much less hit any home runs."

Blaine let his eyebrows rise slightly, agreeing with Kurt, (holy cow, was that a _sports_ metaphor?) but he wanted to let him know that whatever they did or didn't do tonight, it didn't matter to him. They would get to the big stuff eventually, he knew. He wanted their first time to be wondrous, and miraculous and enchanting, not an item on a check list. He didn't want Kurt to feel like he had to do something he wasn't ready for, and take all of the magic out of it. But if Kurt was convinced they had to get there tonight, then he wanted to help him as much as he could.

"Kurt, all we have to do is remember that we love each other. We can go as slow or as fast as you want tonight. I'm pretty sure nothing is going to mess up our bond, because I can feel it's already there, like invisible force fields holding us together. But if you're sure you want to do this tonight, how about we take turns moving ahead, so it's not all on you? I move that we start by removing our shirts, because I can't wait to feel your skin against me." He smiled into Kurt's eyes, trying to tell him how much he had looked forward to this night, without frightening him.

Kurt swallowed and then nodded his agreement, worriedly hoping Blaine wouldn't think his body looked too childish. He had admired so many men's chests that were tanned, hairy and muscled, and he knew he looked nothing like that. Blaine sat up and in about three seconds, quickly pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it onto the floor carelessly, leaving Kurt to gawk in surprise at the eagerness on his face as he waited for Kurt to do the same. He sat up, carefully unbuttoned his pajama shirt and slowly removed it. He was about to fold it neatly, to delay meeting Blaine's eyes, before he changed his mind and tossed it aside too. Stalling was not helping his nerves at all.

"Com'ere" Blaine hummed happily, gathering him close and kissing him again, appearing to accept his appearance without a qualm. It was so easy to get lost in each other's lips, familiar territory they'd explored before, feeling each other warm against their skin, as they squirmed and held each other close. Blaine's hand crept up between them to caress Kurt, his hand flat and floating lightly. Kurt suddenly tittered into his mouth and recoiled, giggling. "I'm really ticklish" he whispered reluctantly. God, way to kill the mood, Kurt! He rolled his eyes in apology.

Well, that was too much temptation to handle for any seventeen year old boy. Blaine chortled evilly as he slid both hands up over Kurt's ribs, and let the pads of his fingers slide around to the velvety soft skin of his lover's ribs, tickling him relentlessly. Kurt locked his legs around his hips and bucked against him, flailing as he tried to dislodge his tickling hands, with a high pitched squealing laugh. All the tension left in a rush as they suddenly turned into two kids playing around.

It was only about 20 seconds later that Kurt stopped resisting in Blaine's arms, when the jolts of pleasure from feeling Blaine shifting between his legs transformed their battle into something else. They stared into each other's eyes for a frozen second, then kissed each other again, but everything suddenly ramped up to a new place they'd never visited before. Blaine could feel Kurt hardening against him as his tongue twirled around his, his legs still hooked around his thighs. He found himself rocking against him, his own cock hoping for some attention.

His lips trailed down Kurt's neck then kissed across his shoulders and across his pecs, his lips becoming acquainted with the soft skin he badly wanted to learn the feel of, as he heard Kurt breathing fast above his head. The hard nub of a nipple brushed his lips and Kurt moaned and his hips bucked against him uncontrollably, when he tongued it. Kurt's fingers wove into his hair and clutched him closer, his breath turning to fast panting as they continued to rock together, still squirming to find a way to line up better. Blaine knew that a frotting session wasn't where they wanted to go, so with one last lick of his nipple he leaned back, framing Kurt's surprised face under him with his forearms. They had other plans tonight.

"Do you suppose somebody was smart enough to give us some lube? I'm a complete idiot and completely forgot to pack mine." He whispered the words to Kurt, with an apologetic half smile. Kurt was flushed and pink, his breath heaving as he realized it was time to move to the next stage again.

"You could try the drawers in the night table, I suppose." His breath was slowing a little. He didn't tell Blaine that he had packed his own, still shy about admitting that he had thought that far ahead. To be completely honest, he hadn't thought about much _else_ for the last few days. Blaine leaned from between his legs to reach to the drawer, squashing his leg, though Kurt wasn't going to complain when he could feel his boner pressing against his thigh. He heard him rummaging around and then he leaned back, triumphantly holding a small bottle.

"They remembered all right. There is actually a bunch of interesting stuff in there we're going to have to check out sometime, but for now, this should do us." He settled back against Kurt, shifting to let some of the pressure off his dick, which appeared to be terribly interested in getting acquainted with the other dick pressing back against him. He wriggled a bit, trying to centre himself on top of Kurt, and then pushed with his toes to rub them together. He heard Kurt inhale sharply and his eyes half close as he figured out what Blaine was doing. He inhaled again, working up the courage to say the words, taking his turn to move them toward more intimacy.

"Is it time to lose the pants?" Kurt whispered the words tentatively, not feeling secure enough to say them out loud. Blaine nodded eagerly, wholeheartedly endorsing his suggestion. He reared back to his hands and knees, and smirked at Kurt while he wriggled his butt in a silent request for his assistance. Kurt bit his lip, as he tucked his fingers into the band of Blaine's sleep pants and slowly ran them down over his hips and the often-imagined territory he was about to become much more familiar with.

Blaine lifted each of his knees in turn, and then pushed the flannel down and off his legs with his toes. That was one down, just him to go, Kurt thought tautly. He lifted his hips and wriggled his pajama pants down, his cock springing upward in its enthusiasm. Blaine helped him get them down past his hips, Kurt being careful not to disastrously knee Blaine's nuts in his clumsy struggle, but very grateful Blaine was looking into his eyes instead of downward. They left his pajama pants tangled together around Kurt's ankles, forgotten in the sudden realization that with one forward movement, they would be naked in each other's arms for the first time.

Blaine remained frozen on his knees for a second until Kurt met his eyes, looking into them trustfully. Then he melted down slowly against him into a heated kiss. Blaine's body felt hard and hot against him, his shoulder muscles sliding under Kurt's fingers. He could feel Blaine's dick against his belly, and Blaine's belly against his own dick. Kurt's legs locked tighter as Blaine let the kiss get hotter and wetter, his tongue winding around his. They were squirming again, their desire making the wet leaking onto their stomachs make them slide deliciously. Blaine could hear Kurt's breath fast and hot in his ear, his whole body vibrating with excitement, as they instinctively tried to get lined up again.

Blaine, aching for much more than even that delicious pleasure, reached away to find the lube and opened it, holding it up to show Kurt, in an invitation to move another giant step ahead.

Kurt stared at the bottle for only a few seconds before he put out his hand, and waited while Blaine squirted some onto it. It felt icy against his overheated skin. Oh god.

Blaine scrambled awkwardly from between Kurt's legs, pausing on his knees beside him as he considered what to do now. "Do you want me on my hands and knees?" He whispered, hearing his voice sounding fast and desperate. He didn't care how they did this next part. He just wanted to get on with it. The anticipation was killing him.

Kurt didn't answer, his mouth moving soundlessly in thought, realizing he didn't have any idea what he wanted Blaine to do now. He thought about Blaine on his knees, his ass presented to him, and his hips twitched at the image, but he knew he needed to see his face, to talk to him, to stay emotionally connected with him. He wanted them to do this together.

"No. Lie on your back." He directed him, sounding much calmer to his own ears, than his pounding heart and labouring lungs might suggest. His heart was hammering in his chest, so he consciously tried to take a couple deep breaths to keep from feeling like he was about to pass out.

Blaine nodded to him, lying down and spreading his knees wide. He couldn't help grabbing his dick and giving it a couple fast pumps as he waited breathlessly. He moaned at the jolt of sensation, and prayed Kurt would touch him _soon_. "Please" he whispered brokenly, unsure what he was begging for yet. God, he'd never felt so achingly hot before. He had imagined this moment with Kurt a thousand times and tonight it was real. Kurt was going to touch him in a way no one else ever had and then they would make love…

Kurt crawled up beside Blaine's body and quickly kissed his lips and then trailed his lips down his neck, to find a familiar anchor, as he reached tentatively between Blaine's legs, finding the seam under Blaine's balls and drifting down father to the puckered opening below. He let his fingers circle around it lightly and was shocked to hear Blaine erupt in a strangled whine as he clutched him closer. "Ohhhh, Kurt." Blaine kissed him hard then, desperately trying to hold back his helpless noises. Kurt returned the kiss, letting his tongue push into Blaine's mouth, at the same time as his finger sunk into the hot tight tunnel under his hand. Blaine clenched down on him tightly as his hips heaved, and his mouth sucked Kurt's tongue in hard, wordlessly asking for more. He whimpered and then tried his best to relax his muscles.

Blaine's eyes were half closed, his breathing erratic and fast. "Please, more" he whispered, every nerve in his body firing sparks. He wanted this with a desperation he never knew existed. Kurt was breathing fast too, shocked and turned on by Blaine's wanton reactions. He continued his slow and careful preparation as they continued to kiss and murmur to each other. Blaine was heaving against his fingers in a search for more stimulation, his hand squeezing his own cock until he could bear to pump it every few minutes. He wanted so much more, than those gentle teasing fingers.

"Now. Now Kurt. Do it. Please!" Blaine could tell he was jabbering, but hoped Kurt understood that he wanted him. Kurt understood, because he was applying a ton of lube to his cock now, and moving forward to kneel between his legs with an intense look on his face. Blaine pulled up on his knees, and writhed, barely able to contain himself. He felt Kurt pushing back on his thighs and waited breathlessly to feel him penetrate him.

Kurt leaned forward slowly, his heart thumping wildly in his chest as he aimed for the rosy pink target. As soon as he made contact Blaine started a whispered litany of words , "Please baby. Please. I want to feel you inside me, please"

Kurt pushed and felt heat and slippery resistance. He leaned harder and felt himself sliding into Blaine, the sensation of incredible warmth and pressure tight around the head of his cock. He paused, as Blaine's voice went up another notch, trying to slow down his pounding heart and fast shallow breathing. Kurt could feel his orgasm building already before he'd even had a chance to completely bury himself.

Blaine wasn't noticing Kurt's reactions. He just knew he wanted more than the slight nudge he was getting from his lover. He lowered his legs to the bed and heaved upward with his hips, burying Kurt nearly to the hilt and making them both groan loudly in shocked reaction. Blaine felt a sharp stab of pain that grounded him and held him unmoving. Kurt was hyperventilating now, his breath whooping in and out, his face red above his, tensed in overwhelmed sensation, balancing on the precipice of his orgasm.

Blaine realized if Kurt came now, he wasn't going to feel him the way he desperately needed.

"Kurt, look at me. Breathe, slow and steady. Look at me." Blaine demanded Kurt back away from his orgasm. His eyes opened and locked onto Blaine's, his pupils dark and dilated, his breathing still panting and shallow. "Hey baby. We're almost there now. Just breathe for a bit, and we'll go the rest of the way together. You feel _incredible_ Kurt!_" _ Blaine had usually pictured himself as the one on top but if this was what bottoming felt like, then he was ready to revise his preference permanently.

Kurt remained unmoving and with every vibrating particle of his being ignored the almost irresistible urge to thrust. He knew he would only last seconds in the state he was in if he started moving now. He wanted to make this amazing for Blaine, so he needed to back away from the edge he was on. It took several seconds of slowing heartbeats and shallow breaths before he felt ready to move. He gave an experimental thrust forward and heard Blaine give a moan in reaction. His lips widened in a hopeful smile.

Well then. He started with a slow steady thrusting that quickly made Blaine start babbling again, feeling him react with a spasm every time he brushed against the hard knob of his prostate inside him. He put his hand over Blaine's on his cock and helped him pump it, keeping time with his own thrusts. They found a rhythm that felt perfect for both of them, with their breath exhaling as he withdrew and inhaling as he thrust forward. He felt connected to Blaine by far more than his cock, like they had melted into a white hot pool of metal.

Kurt's orgasm was inevitably building again, with the hot wet drag inside Blaine feeling impossibly, breath-takingly wonderful. Blaine was making incomprehensible sounds, rising higher, with every thrust. He was going to ask Blaine if he was close when he felt him tensing around him, and then his come splashed hot and wet over their hands and on to Blaine's belly, his voice ragged and high as he cried out in ecstasy. Kurt gratefully allowed the incredible white heat of pleasure build into an explosion that melted his bones, as he throbbed deep into Blaine, his lover's diminishing spasms making him moan with the exquisite sensations.

When his thrusts slowed to a stop, he collapsed into the streaks on Blaine's abdomen, his wobbling arms and legs unable to hold him up for another second. They gasped and heaved for breath together, their hearts pounding in concert. "My sweet lord! That was intense." Blaine gasped out, nuzzling Kurt and holding him tightly with his arms and legs.

Now Kurt knew why they called it bonding, because he could tell they were cemented together forever now, as one unit instead of two people, as if his heart had completely left his body, and migrated to Blaine's body. He'd imagined that he had been in love with Blaine before, but now he _knew_ that he would always love this man, more than life itself. He touched a curl on Blaine's temple, caressing it lovingly. God he loved him so much!

Their breathing slowed more, and Kurt felt himself softening inside Blaine. He eased back, making Blaine twitch in another spasm, and jerked suddenly at the sensitivity. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." He said worriedly, opening his eyes to see Blaine smiling back at him, lovingly.

"Oh. My. God, Kurt! Please do _not_ apologize for that. That was amazing, mind-blowing, incredible, wonderful… aaand a whole pile of other adjectives I can't think of right now. God, I think you melted my brain, so if we aren't bonded now, we never will be. Congratulations, big guy, we did it." Blaine lifted his head and kissed Kurt's nose teasingly and then lay back down with a theatrical sigh of satisfaction.

Kurt blushed adorably, pretty damn pleased with his performance himself. Blaine was right, if that didn't seal their bond, nothing would. He had no idea sex could feel that incredible, or he'd have jumped Blaine's bones ages ago. He lifted himself to his knees, the cooling smear on his belly making him belatedly aware that they were both a sticky mess. His nose curled up, as he glanced down, making Blaine grin at his adorable mate.

"Want another shower, hon? What is this, number four or five today? We're going to get dry skin, if we shower this often. Of course, I could always apply moisturizer over every inch of your glorious body, if you wanted. We went directly to the finish line, without passing a few signposts I was looking forward to visiting, so how about after we clean up, I practice my blow job technique on you?" Blaine spoke teasingly, but he was completely serious. Now that he was able to share Kurt's bed and he was actually encouraged to have sex with him, he was going to take every advantage of the wide array of sexual fantasies he'd had to rely on since he was fourteen for sexual gratification. Well, every one of them, except for the one he'd relied on the most; doing to Kurt what he had just done to him. He could easily live with that, since he had lots of other ideas to try out.

Somehow, they had managed to have sex without Kurt feeling completely exposed in front of Blaine. He knew that he was being silly about completely revealing his body, but a lifetime of feeling different to everyone else was a tough habit to break in one night. Blaine saw his lover's blush and his eyes refuse to meet his, when he suggested they shower together, and took an educated guess at what Kurt was worried about.

"Kurt, I think you're _incredibly _hot. I love the way you look, so please don't think you have to hide anything. I want to explore every inch of you and I was sort of hoping you might want to do the same with me."

Put that way, Kurt decided he could do this, deciding to focus on exploring Blaine's body instead of worrying about how he looked. He was Blaine's partner now, so he was going to have to get the hell over it.

They held hands as they went to Kurt's bathroom, their bathroom now, and Kurt watched as Blaine adjusted the water. Blaine really wasn't kidding about his intentions. He sudsed him up with a slick foam of shower wash and then sunk to his knees and took him into his mouth. Kurt thought that being buried in Blaine felt like heaven, but this was surely another level of heaven. His mouth felt just as hot, and he had such a talented tongue. He'd tried to back away when his orgasm was unavoidable but Blaine had his hands braced on his ass, keeping him buried deep in his mouth. Kurt had to lock his knees to keep from collapsing when he came down Blaine's throat. He expected to return the favour but Blaine's excitement at finally trying something he had dreamed about forever made him spill his own load on the shower floor, when Kurt came, without him even being touched by either of them.

They barely dragged their asses back to bed before they passed out, entwined into a deep and satisfied sleep. Blaine woke a few hours later, with Kurt up against his back, and his hard cock nudging him between his cheeks. He pushed his bum toward Kurt, ready to be fucked again. God, it was glorious being seventeen with a recovery time that kept up with his inclinations. Kurt reached for the lube, and spent a few minutes preparing him, but it didn't take long. Kurt rolled to his knees, then whispered to him to kneel and grip the headboard.

Blaine realized Kurt had enjoyed a few fantasies too, as he assumed the position Kurt wanted him in. He walked across the bed behind him on his knees, his cock bumping his ass before he sunk slowly into him. Blaine found he was able to push and pull with Kurt's movements as he felt Kurt sliding in and out of him, and every time his prostate spasmed in pleasure.

It took a little longer to come this time, and he was starting to feel sore, when Kurt reached around with his hand and made him quickly climb to another mind blowing orgasm. His pillow was going to need a laundering, he realized as Kurt grabbed his hips and let go, skewering his prostate with every hard thrust of his cock. Blaine could feel his own poor exhausted dick trying valiantly to harden again, when Kurt finally let out a high whine and grabbed his shoulders from under his chest and pulsed inside him, grunting softly in satisfaction.

He felt Kurt sliding slowly out of him as his lover slumped into a puddle of spent boy on the bed, looking like he had dissolved all his bones. Blaine turned his head and grinned at him lying with his eyes half closed in satiated exhaustion. He turned to lean over him on his hands and knees, and kissed him, slow and deep, humming happily into his mouth. This was awesome, being able to make love as often as they wanted!

He leaned back onto his haunches afterward, and widened his eyes in dismay when he felt a flood of come pour out of him onto the bed. Ooops He looked down, with a curl of his lip that made his partner chuckle lightly in amusement.

"You do realize that is _your_ side of the bed, right?" Kurt said teasingly.

Blaine snorted. "_You_ left it there. I just didn't realize you were getting it back, so soon." .The bed was getting downright disgusting and it was still only 2:30 am. Oh well, since it was the middle of the night, they pulled the top sheet up, turned their pillows over and slept on Kurt's side of the bed instead, crashed again into besotted slumber, more at ease than they could ever remember feeling.

Blaine woke in the morning pleasantly surprised to find Kurt on the end of his dick, trying out his own oral technique. He was hard again in seconds, the actuality of his dreams proving to feel far better than anything he had dreamed of. There was only a splash of come when he came, but his orgasm was just as intense as ever, his balls aching after coming so many times in the last twelve hours. Kurt licked his swollen lips, savoring Blaine's taste. He grinned to himself when he realized they had the rest of their lives to do this sort of thing.

Kurt's stomach growled, answered by Blaine's as they lay entwined heart to heart on the bed. Blaine chuckled and said. "I guess we have to go out there if we want something more substantial to eat than fruit or chocolate. I kind of want to stay in bed with you all day and nibble on parts of you instead." Blaine pondered moving, but hadn't yet worked up the ambition to do anything about it.

"Mmmm, sounds nice. Maybe just a little while longer, Blaine? I love lying here with you next to my heart. I do feel different today. I'm forever yours now, my heart tied to yours, with my dick following close behind." They chuckled, knowing how true it was. The love they shared had been permanently anchored, by making love until they were too weak to move.

"Your dick behind me is right. Good god, my ass hurts. It felt amazing while we were doing it, but now I'm regretting begging you to fuck me stupid." Blaine wondered how was ever going to sit to eat a meal, without a totally embarrassing pillow to ease his bruised behind. Hopefully this passed quickly, because he knew he was going to want to do it again soon.

"Would you like breakfast in bed today, my love? I wonder if that's why the tradition started?" Kurt smirked at Blaine, knowing he was probably too sore to sit down right now. He distinctly remembered fucking his brains out last night. Being the top was turning out to be not a great hardship.

"That would be lovely. Thank you. Gi Melin" Blaine said, enunciating carefully. Kurt grinned, pleased at his attempt at Elvish.

"Gi melin Blaine. Gelon ned i glar i chent gin ned i gladhol" Kurt had practiced that phrase, knowing he wanted to say it to his partner. He waited to see Blaine's reaction, but soon determined his Elvish wasn't up to that much when Blaine shrugged helplessly, admitting he had no idea what it meant. "It means,' I love to see your eyes shine, when you laugh'. I love you so much, Elin."

He bent to press a soft kiss to Blaine's lips, their eyes locking in love. Desire rose in him again, but if they did it again, his lover likely wouldn't be able to walk at all, so he went to find them some food instead. Kurt quickly donned one of the Eldari suits, without bothering with underwear. He felt positively naughty, going commando after spending the night exploring the delights of his boyfriend's…his partner's... his beloved mate's body.

He went to the dining room, gratified to find the room deserted, with a selection of food being kept warm for them in buffet servers. He piled two plates into mountains, tucked silverware and napkins under his arm and was headed back to their bedroom when Kiala caught him in the hall. He bowed his head, unable to offer the proper greeting with his hands full. She smiled at him, and opened the door to the bedroom for him, without giving in to the temptation to mention that they'd worked up a hearty appetite. He flashed a grateful smile to her, letting his eyebrows go up in an expression of delighted wonder.

She returned to her office smiling, pleased the boys were getting on well. The traditional listener outside their door had reported hearing Blaine's and then Kurt's passionate sounds last night, to verify that their bond had been unmistakably and permanently established. It certainly should be, if she remembered that remarkably sated expression on Kurt's face, so much like her beloved Kisa, after their first night together, revelling in the thought of a lifetime of pleasure that lay in their future. She dearly hoped Kiert would enjoy as many wonderful years with his mate, as she and Kisa had. Those memories were all that had kept her going after he'd been ambushed and murdered, leaving her bereft for the rest of her life, feeling like she was missing a limb. She breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that soon the succession to her throne would be assured.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 ' Back to Normal' Life**

They went back to Dalton that night, Blaine perched gingerly on the helicopter's bench seat with Kurt trying not to smirk at him. It was Blaine's fault that he was so sore, because he was the one who had convinced Kurt to do it again... not that it had taken much convincing. His partner would likely need a week to recover from their first night together, but they were both already anticipating next weekend.

Luckily, by the next day, Blaine was much recovered, with only a bit of residual tenderness. God, he told himself, they really had to lay off the horizontal mambo for a bit. They really should. Well…maybe by tonight he would be recovered enough to try it again. God, it was embarrassing to be such a slut, eager to make love any time Kurt and he could get some privacy. It had been bad enough to be a teenaged male, endlessly thinking about sex, but now that Kurt had awakened an endlessly horny beast in him, they couldn't seem to stop.

Sleeping together had lit a flame inside them that burned hotter and brighter than they had ever expected. Their first night together had temporarily damped down the flames but by the next day it burned bright again with only one way to regain the ability to concentrate on anything else. They virtuously waited till the following night, with only a blow job for each of them to hold them over, but then surrendered to the inevitable. They made love at least once every weekday after that, to slake the thirst that came back, night after night, day after day. Their friends all knew they were bonking like bunnies, but other than some slightly jealous teasing about their glazed expressions, everyone seemed happy for them.

Jeff, who had appointed himself Kurt's bodyguard, kept a watchful eye out for them, giving a quick triple knock on the door to warn them of approaching dorm prefects. Thanks to him, they were always working decorously in their books, spread out on the bed, when the door opened after a single quick warning knock to check on them, with Kurt's flushed face and Blaine's dark eyes the only clue that both their pants were still undone under them, from fornicating wildly only moments ago. They offered wide-eyed innocent smiles and received a suspicious look in return, with both of them dissolving into giggles afterward.

They tried to not do much messing around when they went to the Hummel's for Friday night dinner, slightly weirded out by having Kurt's parents scheming with them, to keep his step-brother and their friends unaware that they were sleeping together. They usually ended up giving in to temptation anyway. Finn would often go to Puck's or Rachel's for the evening, but he would come home again late, and it was only a matter of time until he figured out Blaine wasn't sleeping in the guest room. Then again, he could be incredibly oblivious sometimes. Although he knew Kurt and Blaine were in love, somehow he never made the connection from that, to what he did with his girlfriends.

They managed to last just over a month until they got caught. Rachel and Mercedes came over to call on Kurt one weekend, prepared to drag him out kicking and screaming to go shopping with them, if they had to. They were sick to death of always hearing he was busy with Blaine. Not that they disliked Blaine; he just wasn't one of the girls, the way Kurt was.

When they got no response to their knock, they discovered Puck and Finn were playing video games in his basement bedroom, and were informed Kurt was upstairs. So they went up to Kurt's bedroom, giving him a warning tap in case he was changing or something. There was no answer, so Mercedes, assuming he was in his bathroom, opened the door and walked in. She stopped dead, at seeing two boys with their legs entwined around each other, their bare little keesters on display. She felt Rachel poke her back in annoyance, wondering why she was blocking the door way. Mercedes wordlessly turned and allowed Rachel to see too.

A squawk of shock escaped Rachel's mouth through her hand. Blaine nuzzled Kurt, a strange high pitched sound penetrating his sated sleep. "hmmmm?" he inquired muzzily, wondering what Kurt meant. He was about to roll to his back, and sit up, when Mercedes whooped. "Whoa there, mister. That's far enough!" Blaine's eyes opened in horror, recognizing her voice. _Shit!_

Blaine groped ineffectively for the covers, which had gotten pushed down to the foot of the bed when Kurt went down on him before he screwed him. "Holy crap, what are you _doing_ in here?" He bellowed at the girls, trying to cover a great deal of territory with nothing much besides just his two hands to do it with. Kurt woke up at his shout and pulled back from Blaine in surprise. He looked over Blaine's hip, and screeched in horror when he saw Mercedes with a hand over her eyes and Rachel staring at them unabashed. Mercedes may as well as not bothered since her fingers were spread wide enough to easily see through anyway.

"Oh my God, turn around, would you?" Kurt yelled, raising his knee to cover his dick, but realizing he was displaying his balls instead. Fuck! He and Blaine leaned toward each other, using their bodies to hide their junk.

The girls finally turned around, and Kurt quickly snagged the covers up and over them. Blaine pulled the sheet over his head, and refused to emerge even after Mercedes peeked to see that they were covered now. "Well, Kurt, at least now I know why you're always busy with Blaine. You're getting busy_ with_ Blaine." Rachel tittered in amusement, surprisingly unphased by catching them bare assed.

Kurt leaned his head against Blaine's shoulder with his eyes closed, reviewing his options. They were busted, fair and square, but the girls didn't have to know all the details. "I would very much appreciate if you would knock and wait for permission to enter, before you come in my room." Kurt said, his voice brittle and his eyes flashing thunderbolts. Mercedes didn't blame him for being ticked. He was usually really shy about showing any skin, and man that was an awful lot of skin he'd had on display. Mnnn, very nice skin. She wished she'd been smart enough to take a picture before Rachel's big mouth woke them up.

"Okay, how long have you two been making the two-backed beast?" Rachel demanded, moving to Kurt's desk and leaning against it comfortably. Kurt wished they would just go away! He should have known that was not going to happen. Eventually, the girls pried the information out of them that they had been lovers for the last few weeks.

Kurt begged the girls to keep it to themselves, but it wasn't more than a week before _all_ the girls knew about them sleeping together. It appeared Rachel Berry had loose lips, since Kurt refused to believe Mercedes would blab his private stuff. But for some reason, their code of honour precluded them from telling any of the guys, so at least Finn and Puck never heard about it. Santana was the one Kurt was most worried about. She sometimes had very little self-control, so if she was ever annoyed at them, she would bray it to the whole school. God forbid, there was probably some archaic law that meant they could be horsewhipped or beheaded or something if the authorities ever found out they were having 'unnatural relations', especially at only seventeen. Somehow, their relationship stayed under the flight path of the authorities.

The following weekend, the boys intended to spend mostly in their bedroom, at the compound until Blaine's parent's suddenly found some parental fervor, or more likely, guilted themselves out by never seeing him. They insisted he stay home with them for a change instead of always being out with '_that_ Kurt boy'.

Blaine predictably expressed his dissatisfaction with that plan and they grounded him for another whole week for being rude and mouthy. He seriously considered running away and living at Kurt's house, but that wasn't fair to the Hummels. He also considered telling them that it was his duty as the officially bound Consort of the Prince of the Elves, to regularly sleep with Kurt…but _that_ wasn't going to fly far either, was it?

Kurt had to go to the compound without him, where he spent half the weekend on the phone with his lover, consoling themselves with the thought that Blaine's parents couldn't keep them apart while they were at school. Kiala raised her eyebrows sympathetically when Kurt explained the reason for Blaine's absence, but didn't comment. The boys being separated so soon after bonding, was its own special brand of torture, she knew.

Blaine had lots of time to think about how he should have handled the situation. He knew he had behaved badly, and being grounded was his own fault. He apologized to his parents and asked them if they'd like to play a game of Monopoly. His father had gaped at him in surprise and muttered something incomprehensible about having work to do, before he left the room. Blaine's mother played two rounds of Monopoly with him and beat him soundly. They had a ton of fun, for the first time since he could remember. Helena was still very beautiful when she laughed, but she didn't laugh enough.

They got by, sneaking into each other's rooms at school, until Blaine could once again accompany Kurt to the compound on the following weekend, but the short separation had highlighted a quickly approaching issue. The school year was nearly over and they would have more than two months away from Dalton. How were they going to manage 'seeing' each other? Kurt talked to Kiala about it, and she coolly suggested they apply for summer jobs at the same place. Kurt looked confused. How was that going to help? A job would only cut down on the time they had to spend together... although maybe Burt might help them set up a trysting place at the shop, but only after it closed. Kurt drew the line at making love, serenaded by the sounds of compressors and torque drivers.

Kiala smiled at him and then explained. They would apply for summer jobs at a Wilderness Adventure Lodge they both knew of, ostensibly entertaining the clients in the evening and working in the kitchen during the day, similar to the Dirty Dancing movie. In return, the job would pay them well, and their room and board were included. "How about it, Kiert? Do you think you might want the job? Do you think Blaine will? I have an in with the operators, if you do." Kurt had to hug her, propriety be damned. His grandmother was a lifesaver.

The boys excitedly showed the letter offering employment to their parents and friends. Burt and Carole knew the truth, but Blaine's parents and their friends were convinced it was real. The entire New Directions crew all fired off applications too, hoping they could tap into this dream job, but alas, the positions were all filled. Mercedes didn't talk to Kurt for a week and a half for not telling her about the opportunity, which was painful for him, but it didn't compete with spending the summer with your partner with no responsibilities, or people disapproving of you holding hands, much less all the other stuff they did, when they were alone. They could hardly wait for the summer to start.

Blaine packed his suitcase, leaving most of his belongings behind, except for his IPod, his guitar and his music notebook and a few clothes he probably wouldn't wear much. He had been working on a song he wanted to sing to Kurt, but it wasn't perfect yet and it had to be just right. He explained his light packing to his suddenly concerned mother, saying they wore uniforms at work, and he would be home every few weeks for a visit. She held him close when he left, murmuring that she would miss him. He hugged her back, surprised but pleased at her admission.

Helena had abruptly realized her son was growing up and, after only one more year of high school, would go to college and probably never live at home with them again. Where had the years gone? Blaine was so handsome….so much like his father, all those years ago. Helena had gone to Rome for a visit when her cousin got married. It had been a magical, carefree, wonderful time, having a fling and quickly falling in love with a school friend of her cousin's husband. The romance had ended unexpectedly when she had been suddenly called back by the death of her father in law, returning home to reality and her mind-numbing life as an executive's wife.

When she realized she was pregnant, she seduced her husband and passed Blaine off as his, though she knew he had always suspected that she'd had an affair. It was easy to pass Blaine off as premature, having been quite a small baby. She'd never forgotten her lover, tempted to try to find him so many times, even Googling his unusual name, hoping they could reconnect…. It wasn't meant to be, she finally admitted. It had been only a wonderfully romantic interlude in her life, one that had given her Blaine as a permanent memento, her sweet talented boy who felt everything so deeply and passionately, like his father.

The summer passed in a blur of passion for Blaine and Kurt. Kiala gave them the use of a special private retreat she and her husband had built after their bonding years ago, but seldom visited once she and Kisa succeeded to the throne. Her daughter and Davi had used it for a couple summers, but that too had passed quickly, once she had Kiert and they became more involved in supporting the reunification of their people. Then she and Davi were gone too. She'd had it cleaned up and refurbished as a surprise for her grandson and his partner, hoping it would work its magic as well for them, as it had for her and Kyria, and ensure the next generation got started. The queen did very little without a good reason, even though she now loved her grandson and his partner a great deal.

The boys were completely enchanted with the quaint little cabin built into the side of a ravine overlooking a small waterfall. It was completely remote, with the nearest road miles away and only accessible by plane or helicopter. The sun shone in the uncurtained windows onto the spacious bed in the single room it contained, and the sweet grass beckoned out the door, with wild bees humming in the wildflowers. When they felt like leaving the bed, they could go for walks on the trails in the area, though they seldom went very far.

They spent the days idyllic days reading, talking, making love, sleeping sporadically, and eating when they got hungry, making love or occasionally listening to recorded lectures to continue their lessons, sometimes practicing their Elven language skills on each other, in between making love. They seldom put on much more than a pair of rolled up loose trousers or a swim suit to dive off the projecting lip fifteen feet over the churning falls into a crystal pool below. There was a meadow beside a wooded area that was one of their favourite spots to lie on a quilt, looking out over the valley. Even Kurt, with his delicate white skin, took on a golden glow, though he and Blaine were fastidious about using sunblock. But there were a lot of times when it just wasn't convenient to reapply it.

One afternoon they were swimming in the pool below the falls when a sudden shower rolled in and the rain pelted down on them. It wasn't thundering at all, and they were already wet, so they stayed swimming for a bit until they decided they should go in and make some lunch. The bank had gotten slick and muddy and Kurt slipped and fell flat on his face, his chest and arms getting liberally covered in mud too.

The look on his face, when he regained his feet, was precious. Blaine laughed his ass off at him, still standing in the shallows, until in retaliation, Kurt turned and whipped a handful of mud at him. Blaine caught the glob on the side of his head, his instincts telling him to turn his face just in time. He whooped a challenge and waded over to get some ammunition to fight back. It was war.

By the time they were done, they were hardly recognizable anymore, covered in mud from head to toe from rolling in the mud together. Blaine's hair was mostly flattened with it, and Kurt's teeth were shining white when he laughed, in a face that looked painted over. The only parts still clean on them were in their swim suits.

Blaine wrestled Kurt to the ground, and bent to kiss him as he straddled him, gritty and murky with mud. It was organic and primal, in more than just the agricultural sense. They felt like an integral part of nature, responding to each other with passion and heat, in an ancient response to nature's power. Kurt insisted they rinse off in the water again, before they went in, because no way was he having sex out there in the muck, but that earthy connection between them felt incredibly strong, like a chain binding them together. Their connection that time, while making love, felt more powerful than ever.

They went from short bursts of intense passion, interspersed with long lazy hours of talking, sharing everything in their lives, and just being together without any demands. Every four days the helicopter would land to deliver fresh supplies of fruit, vegetables and easily prepared food, since they had only a hot plate and a microwave to cook with. Several times, it was Jeff who accompanied the supplies to their cabin. They would sit and talk about the guys at school, but Jeff knew from the intimate aura around them that they were just being polite, anticipating being left alone again. He was very happy for them, dearly hoping the girl he intended to bond with would look at him the way Kurt and Blaine lovingly gazed at each other.

They only went home for few days three times through the summer to see their families, about every two weeks or so, looking tanned and healthy and relaxed. Kiala had helpfully given them some pictures to show their friends, with their faces expertly photo-shopped into them to help give some veracity to their story, though no one seemed to question where they were working.

As the summer drew to a close, Kurt could feel sadness emanating from Blaine. He felt regretful too, but Blaine seemed to resent going back to their normal lives far more than he did. Kurt was secretly looking forward to seeing his friends again, eating well-cooked food at a restaurant, wearing something tailored and edgy and, oh my god, hugging the stuffing out of his father and Carole, and maybe even Finn.

Blaine snapped at Kurt a few times, when he talked excitedly about going back, until Kurt decided not to bring it up anymore. Nothing lasted forever, even paradise, he wanted to remind him, but he knew Blaine would just lose it. They had to go back and finish their high school and then… with any luck before Kiala needed him, they could go to college. They'd always known when they came up here that the idyll was going to end.

He found Blaine one night watching the sun going down with such a sad look on his face that Kurt ached for him. He wrapped his arms around Blaine's naked chest and saw him turn his head with a half-hearted smile for him. "What's wrong, honey? Tell me what's bothering you." Kurt had shared all his worries with his partner, but it seemed Blaine wasn't doing the same for him.

"I just…this place is_ so_ perfect, Kurt. I've never been so happy before in my whole life, so why do I feel like crying? Why am I mourning what I haven't even lost yet? I'm like the Red Queen in Alice, screaming _before_ I get hurt. Why can't I enjoy this place for every second while we're here? I don't want to rain on our happiness, Kurt. It isn't fair to you." Blaine leaned his head against Kurt's in a search for comfort.

Kurt just murmured to Blaine that it didn't matter. They had their memories of countless afternoons making love wherever they happened to be, without having to worry about who might be watching or who might disapprove. It might never happen again in their whole lives, so they would always treasure this summer. They both hoped they could make it a part of their regular summer routine, until life's responsibilities made it impossible. Blaine turned and clung to Kurt, soaking up his partner's love and sympathy, to chase his sadness away. It worked for a while, but it always came back.

Jeff came to help them pack up and go home, being very quiet and empathetic. They were all sorry the summer was over, having to go back to being treated like adolescents when they were dealing with adult issues. Blaine felt tears welling, as he packed his notebooks, two new ones filled with all the music he'd written. He'd sung his love song for Kurt and made them both cry with overflowing feelings. They'd made sweet tender love afterward, gradually evolving from soft gentle kisses to orgasms of such intensity Blaine nearly blacked out. Now whenever he strummed it on his guitar that afternoon came back to him, and he and Kurt would catch each other's eyes and recall their passion.

The first day of school was hectic and noisy, with thirty friends all trying to say what a fantastic/lame/boring/disastrous summer they'd had, most of them all at the same time. They were assigned new rooms in the senior dormitories, luckily only four doors away from each other. Kurt wished they could share one, but that wasn't going to happen here at Dalton, even if they were accepting of various ethnic and religious backgrounds. Dalton was all about hallowing tradition, and allowing two boys under the age of eighteen to sleep together wasn't ever going to be allowed.

Kurt understood, since most of the parents would have immediately pulled their sons from the school, if they knew the two of them were seldom using two beds. Nick, Jeff's best friend, was the senior prefect on their floor this year. Nick wouldn't deliberately break the rules and give them advance warning of any 'surprise spot checks' but he did post his schedule where his best friend could see it. Jeff's timely warnings meant everyone could manage to turn a blind eye to their near cohabitation, without a guilty conscience.

By applying excellent time management, they managed an intense physical relationship, and still eked out enough time to get their homework done, rehearse and perform with the Warblers, see the Hummels on Friday night and on most weekends visit Kiala. Luckily, Kurt's lessons had tapered to a trickle, now mostly consisting of drills, self defense training and language lessons, which Blaine often attended too, now that he was the Prince's consort. It was a challenge keeping up with everything, so they both were looking forward to a break from the stressful workload, during the Christmas Break.

It was nearing Christmas and the Warblers were rehearsing carols to sing at nursing homes while still working on the Regionals songs. Blaine seemed to be feeling the impact of stress, more than Kurt had ever seen before. The Christmas carolling went without a hitch, as usual, but Blaine snarled at Wes that they should have practiced more, and built some of the chords better.

Kurt decided he should talk to him about it. Lately, Blaine sometimes lost his temper if anyone 'criticized' (or even mentioned) his performances in the Warblers, no matter how nicely they said it, which wasn't typical of him either. Last week, he'd torn up a test paper with a disappointing mark into ten thousand pieces and then dramatically threw them into the air in his room, bitching that the teacher was completely unreasonable. Kurt was unimpressed with his behavior, since he knew that Blaine had chosen to tinker with a song, when he should have been studying for the test. He quietly left for his own room, coolly saying Blaine could clean the mess up, since he'd made it himself. Once Blaine had cooled down, he cleaned up, found Kurt and apologized abjectly for his behavior, but they both knew he still had a short fuse that could go off any second for any stupid reason.

Kurt just wanted to know what the hell was bothering his partner. He was terribly afraid that Blaine was resenting giving up all his dreams of college and performing professionally, to become his consort. Was he already regretting being bonded to him at seventeen? Was he going to continue to explode with no provocation until one day he left him forever? Kurt asked again and again if there was anything he could do to help, but Blaine would just shake his head and say everything was fine. It obviously wasn't fine and they both knew it.

The Warblers were working hard in the last rehearsal of the year, before the two week Christmas break. Blaine was having trouble with a step, which _never_ happened. He tried again and again, snarled and tore his blazer off, and did it again, refusing to give up. Jeff worked with him when Kurt got exhausted, but still, he kept at it and at it, until he suddenly yelled at Wes that the choreography sucked ass and he wasn't _doing_ it! He yanked his jacket back on and left the room, leaving everyone staring after him in shock. This just _wasn't_ like the Blaine they knew.

Kurt quickly apologized for Blaine, saying he was super-stressed about things, and asked if they could start rehearsing again after the holidays, when he'd had a chance to depressurize. It wasn't like the Warblers could rehearse without their star lead, so they ended the rehearsal. Kurt went to his room and found Blaine sprawled across the bed, sulking. Kurt sighed and silently packed Blaine's bag for him, and put it beside his, then went to sit on the edge of the bed, and began rubbing Blaine's back soothingly. He didn't mention his fit of anger, or ask why it had happened. He just wanted Blaine to know he was there for him. Blaine suddenly erupted from the bed and wrapped around him, clinging tightly.

"I don't know what's _wrong_ with me, Kurt! I feel like I'm balancing on a wire and the slightest thing can knock me off it. I'm sorry. I know I keep saying it, but I _am_ sorry. I keep trying to let stuff roll off my shoulders but it feels like I'm about to boil over all the time. You must be so fed up and disgusted with me." Blaine spoke into Kurt's shoulder still clinging to him.

"I'm confused and worried about you, but no, I'm not fed up. You just need some time to relax and take it easy. We've been _so_ busy, between classes and rehearsals and the weekends away. There's been so much pressure on us, both from us and from your parents, demanding you keep your marks up. We just really need time to do nothing for a little while. How about we go home for Friday dinner and then we can just veg out a bit afterward, and do nothing? Does that sound good?" Blaine heaved a sigh, and got up, taking off his blazer to change into civies before they left.

The holiday break was _exactly _what they needed. For the first few days, Kurt baked cookies with Carole, and wrapped presents, and snuggled on the couch with Blaine, watching Christmas specials and old movies, between football games that Blaine watched with his father and Finn. They had a get-together with their New Directions friends and caught up with who was with who now, in all the latest gossip. They had a slightly uncomfortable Holiday dinner at Blaine's house, where Blaine's dad asked hearty questions about Kurt's college plans, as if they didn't completely coincide with Blaine's. They went tobogganing, and for long walks in the snow, and Blaine seemed much better, far less edgy and tense. Kurt breathed a sigh of relief, hoping he was past whatever was causing it.

After Christmas was over they went up to the compound for a few days, to see the other half of their family, and entertained them with some music. It was very restful there too, with the slow pace of the holidays rejuvenating their love affair. They spent hours in bed together, making love until Blaine complained that he was getting too sore. Instead, they went for a hike in the magical snow-covered woods, a guard accompanying them at a respectful distance in case of wolves or if they wandered too far, but it felt like they were all alone. Then they'd go home and hide out in their room, snuggled in bed together.

Blaine knew they must have overdone the lovemaking after aching for days after they went back to school, and asked Kurt if they could lay off for a few days. Kurt gave him a sensual massage instead and ended up massaging certain portions of anatomy to relieve his tension.

Once back at school again, it was incredibly difficult to go back to the grind of constant work. It was time to send in their college applications, narrowing their choices to the Northwest to stay close to all their families. Blaine had chosen three and Kurt had chosen two, all in New York City. They sent them off, praying that everything would work out for them and then they got down to the intensity of the last few months of school.

Blaine was clinging hard to his hopes of spending the summer in the north at the cabin again, but his parents were pressuring him to get something in the city, working in a law office or a financial planning organization for more practical experience than working as an entertainer at a lodge. He didn't want anything to do with that, but sent in a few resumes to shut them up. All he wanted was to be with Kurt, without the world forever trying to tear them apart. He could feel the tension starting to build again, making him short tempered. It was unfortunate that Kurt suffered the brunt of his snits, when he was seldom the cause, but he casually told him to stuff it when he needed it, so Blaine was grateful he didn't take him seriously any more.

Their college applications came back and they narrowed down their choices to two, close to each other in New York, so they could share an apartment located between them. Moving to New York and living together seemed like a whole different lifetime from where they were. First they had to get through this year, and that was proving to be stressful enough. Kurt hoped Blaine could handle the stress of living and working in New York.

The Warblers were going to Nationals this year and they were rehearsing like maniacs for the performance in the late spring, though it was only February now. Blaine was going to sing lead, for one last competition, before he graduated. This was his chance to show the whole country how talented he was. There were talent agencies and casting agents there, ready to sign the most talented performers, so he knew there was far more than a gaudy trophy resting on his performance.

David was working on ramping up their choreography, trying to make it quick, athletic, and snappy in response to the judge's comments that they were too predictable. Blaine was sweating like crazy, not accepting anything less than perfection from himself or anyone else. All the boys were tired after working for over an hour on cartwheels and flips. Someone suggested they switch to working on the vocals for a bit, to recover. Blaine refused to let it go, insisting on a couple more run-throughs.

A show of hands determined they would do it one more time before they switched to singing. Blaine took his place in front and counted it down, shaking out his arms in preparation to leap into action again. "One…two….thr….." Kurt watched the colour suddenly drain out of Blaine's face, as he wavered in his place. He never finished the count, and the entire group stared in shock, as he suddenly bolted from the room. Kurt dodged around the group and ran after him, concerned he was ill, with Jeff following him.

Kurt found Blaine, pale and sweaty, heaving up his lunch into the toilet in the main hallway. When Blaine was done, Kurt dampened a paper towel to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and then his mouth. He asked Jeff to inform the guys that Blaine was done for the day, too ill to continue. He nodded and wheeled to obey, when Blaine called out. "Jeff! No, wait. I can go back, Kurt. I'll be fine in a few minutes." Blaine protested weakly.

Kurt stood his ground, his protective instincts for his mate taking over. "No freaking way, mister. You worked yourself into a collapse, and you are _done_ for the day. We aren't doing another thing. We don't even have to go home, if you don't feel well enough."

Blaine knew how much Kurt looked forward to seeing his family every Friday, so he stood, feeling the room waver a bit before it settled back into place. "I'm fine now. We can go get our stuff and leave now if you want. I can rest, while you drive." Blaine knew he'd pushed himself too hard, and was sorry he'd scared Kurt.

Kurt insisted Jeff wait with Blaine, while he went to get their bags, and they were soon on their way. Blaine couldn't hide how tired he was, and as soon as he closed his eyes he was sleeping in the car. He woke after half an hour, his neck stiff and sore, and his muscles achy. He stared, silent and moody, out the window for the rest of the drive. Kurt knew if he said anything about his mood, he would get his head bitten off. He glanced at him, hating being ignored by Blaine, and hurt to be locked out like this. He was very frightened that Blaine wouldn't tell him what was wrong, because there was only one thing Blaine wouldn't talk to him about. Was he thinking about leaving him? Was he fed up with their insane schedule? It was hard enough to be a senior without trying to maintain a relationship, especially one with all the baggage Kurt came with.

Friday dinner that night was very tense. Carole and Burt could sense there was an unresolved issue between them, and that neither boy wanted to address it in front of anyone else. Burt wanted to let them be, figuring they had to work it out themselves, but as usual, Carole wanted to help them fix things. She hovered over Blaine, unsuccessfully trying to tempt him with his favourite foods. He did his best to smile and eat a bit, but he just couldn't make himself eat much. His stomach was still queasy and everything smelled gross to him. He just wanted to lie down and rest for a bit. He pleaded a headache and excused himself, to do just that. Kurt watched him walk away with a pang of worry. His father saw his concern written all over Kurt's face.

"Is there something more bugging him than a bad belly?" Burt asked conversationally. Kurt shrugged noncommittally.

"He won't tell me. He says everything's fine, then sits and glowers at the world and snaps at everyone I've tried talking to him about it, and I've tried waiting until he wants to talk, but it's getting worse and worse, dad. I don't know what to _do _anymore. We were so happy at the cabin last summer, and over Christmas. I wish we could go back to those days."

"Well, I'll tell you something, Kurt. It's a lot easier being happy when nothing's bugging you and the weather is perfect and you can spend all day doing what you want. It's a lot harder being happy when the muffler falls off your car, and your hamburger dripped on your shirt, and you really need a coffee but you left your wallet at home and you have to start all over on something that got ruined. It's called life, son. Give him a break. He'll be fine. Blaine's never been a whiner."

Kurt nodded, agreeing in principle, but it still seemed to take very little to set Blaine off. They had only made love a few times in the last couple weeks, every time initiated by Kurt. A couple times when he'd tried to talk to Blaine he'd yawned and fallen asleep on him in midsentence. Kurt was trying hard to not be terrified that his lover didn't love him anymore.

Kurt watched TV with his father and Carole for an hour or two and then went to bed, too worried to concentrate, disappointed to find Blaine was sleeping in the guest room. Kurt curled into a ball, alone in his bed, and tried hard not to cry in despair. He considered going to Blaine and crawling in with him, but decided he'd been hurt enough for one day, and finally went to sleep after midnight.

Blaine knew he was driving a wedge between them, but he truly didn't know why he was being such a moody bitch either. His partner was the most loving, sweet, sexy man on Earth, and it seemed that he continually pushed him away. _Was_ he resenting having to commit at such a young age? So far he hadn't given up a single thing for Kurt, so why should he be resentful. On the contrary, he'd had an idyllic summer with him, in a romantic setting any guy would give his eye teeth for and been paid handsomely for the pleasure, with a paycheck that plumped up his college fund nicely, even if it had come from his grand-mother-in-law. Blaine was baffled too.

Blaine apologized to Kurt in the morning, and promised to try harder to stop being such a prima dona. He tried to reassure Kurt that he loved him, because it was true, and felt some of Kurt's hurt and anger fade away. Kurt asked tentatively if they could go shopping after breakfast, which Blaine happily agreed to do. Then Kurt asked if Mercedes could go along too, and there he went again, flying off the handle about having somebody else butting into their date. My god, they spent every single day together, so what was his problem? It turned into another angry spat, ended when he suddenly felt his stomach upending again. He barely made it to the can, before his breakfast came up again.

Kurt followed him, his worried face telegraphing his concern. "Blaine, we have to see somebody about this. Something is _not _right. You've thrown up twice in two days, and you're…really tense. I want you to be checked over by a doctor."

Blaine terrified Kurt even more when he quietly agreed he should see a doctor. "Would your family doctor see me or should I go to the hospital?" He hated doctors, and being sick, and his partner knew he must be terrified, if he was willing to go to one. Carole's eyebrows went up an inch, surprised into silence. It was Saturday today, so their family doctor wasn't available until Monday, and unless you wanted to hang out in the ER with the shooting victims and the people vomiting on the floor, he would have to wait for Monday to see someone.

Kurt muttered to himself that he bet he could get him into a doctor. He called Kiala, his voice half an octave higher than normal with his stress levels climbing through the roof. She immediately said to have Blaine at the airport in half an hour, and by the time they arrived, she would have a doctor lined up to see him. Kurt keyed off his phone again, tucking it back into his pocket with satisfaction. There were times it was very satisfying to be the heir to the Sapphire Throne.

Their helicopter landed on a Chicago hospital rooftop, and they were quickly ushered into an office. In just over an hour, Blaine was being checked out by a grandfatherly bespectacled doctor who must have also been one of their people, though he was wearing hospital scrubs. The sign on the door said he was an internist, which was comforting. The doctor seemed to know what he was doing, making his regular patients wait while he squeezed them in. He thoroughly examined Blaine, from his glands behind his ears, to his underarms, and his chest and belly and then down to his groin and the reflexes in his legs. He snapped on a rubber glove and asked Kurt to leave while he did a prostate examination, but Blaine mumbled that his partner might as well stay since he knew his prostate better than anyone.

The doctor took his sweet time probing around, until Blaine grunted uncomfortably, with a quick glare behind him. As great as it felt when Kurt did it, this felt incredibly intrusive. The doctor said that he might be uncomfortable for a second, and then pushed even harder, making Blaine yelp in pain. "Ow, what the hell are you looking for? Whatever it is, you're not going to find it up there, so give me a break, you pervert!" Blaine's patience snapped again, letting his mouth run off.

Kurt gave Blaine an eye, warning him to behave himself. This man had gone out of his way to help them. Blaine quickly apologized, though the doctor just shrugged carelessly. "It's okay, young man. I've been called worse, but as it turns out, I _did _find what I was looking for up there. I think I've solved the mystery of why you feel so crummy." The doctor sat down and made notes in his computer, leaving Kurt to smile hopefully to Blaine. He looked relieved too, hoping the man knew what he was talking about and they could figure out how to help him get back to normal.

"I'm surprised you didn't figure it out yourselves. Surely you knew it was a strong possibility? You're _pregnant,_ young man." The man smiled widely, very pleased to give them the good news. He particularly liked treating his own people and it had been years since he'd given an Idemsexual couple the good news. He wasn't told for_ sure_ who his patient was, but since the emergency call had been made by the Queen's representatives, he certainly hoped this was the Prince and his Consort he was giving the wonderful news to.

Blaine gawked blankly at the man, his mouth hanging open unattractively. "Wha…? But I'm not….he's the… What?"

Kurt's eyes were bugged out and he stood there sputtering too. "But he's not… he can't…you're _sure_? Don't you need a blood test or something to diagnose something like that?"

Blaine turned to look at Kurt with a miffed expression. "Kurt, I don't_ have_ a uterus, so there _can't_ be a baby, blood test or not. We'll find a _real_ doctor next week. This was a complete waste of time." Blaine was doing up his pants and tucking in his shirt, redressing while the doctor watched him thoughtfully.

"All right, I see. You're in denial, so let's go show you, okay?" The doctor pointed to an adjoining room that had medical equipment arranged around a gurney, including an ultra-sound console. The doctor led his patient to the paper covered cot, and Blaine resentfully lay down and undid his pants again, sure this was a ridiculous waste of time. The doctor yanked down his boxers, squirted the icy gel on his stomach and then spread it with the wand, sliding it back and forth over his belly to smooth it to an even layer. He searched for a bit, staring at his monitor, then spun it around for Blaine and Kurt to see and flipped the switch to turn on the audio.

"There ya go, gentlemen. See for yourself." There was a whooshing sound coming through the console that sounded like a very small washing machine with a very fast agitator. Wishwashwishwashwishwash. A tiny blob on the screen, among all the other nameless blobs, was pulsing in time with the noise. "_That_ is your baby's heart. I'd say you were about six or seven weeks along, Blaine. Make an appointment with one of our obstetricians as soon as possible and get started on some vitamins and you'll soon have more energy. The nausea might last another few weeks, but it should pass soon too. I'd advise you to not overextend yourself for the next two months, since judging from your extremely undersized vulva, I'd say you're still adjusting to your transformation, in addition to the pregnancy. May I be the first to offer my congratulations?" He patted Blaine's arm and then gave Kurt a pleased smile as he wiped off the wand, threw a towel onto Blaine's stomach and left the room, to get back to his patiently waiting patients.

Blaine and Kurt stared at each other, still stunned by the diagnosis. "This _cannot_ be happening, Kurt! I am _not_ pregnant. I'm not the elf here, Kurt. _You are_! I've been the bottom the whole time, since the first time we make love, so _you_ wouldn't get pregnant! How the hell did _I_ get KNOCKED UP?" Blaine was getting completely hysterical, so Kurt soothed him with a tight hug, making him subside, while he clutched him back.

Blaine was comforted by Kurt's arms, but he still felt completely bewildered. They were interrupted when the nurse came back to lead them back to the helicopter. Blaine pulled his clothes back on, and they followed their guide through the hallways, lost in thought. Now it was beginning to make sense, the extreme moodiness, the nausea, the short temper. Blaine's hormones haven't even finished transforming him, and now he's got pregnancy hormones on top of it. No wonder Blaine was an emotional mess.

They were half way back to Lima when the obvious occurred to Blaine. The only possible way he could be pregnant was if he was part elf. His curly hair and his amber eyes obviously came from his mother so he assumed that it was her that he should address his questions to. Either she or his father, or both of them must have had elf blood. His father had always been distant and uncaring, and now he understood why he never seemed to measure up to his brother, who was definitely his father's son.

Blaine's thoughts were interrupted when he felt Kurt's hand weave his fingers into his, his blue eyes looking at him with suppressed excitement and a wide smile. Foly Huck, he was _pregnant_! He smiled back tentatively, not sure he had absorbed it all yet. This was going to shake up both their worlds.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 The Next Steps**

Kiala had been waiting impatiently for them to come back, hoping Blaine's sudden unexplained malaise was what she dearly hoped, and not bad news. They met her in the foyer, with a hopeful expression on her face, waiting only for their confirmation before she was going to pounce on Blaine and hug him tightly. Kurt's restrained, affectionate smile and Blaine's resentful glare told her everything she needed to know.

She smiled brightly, her heart soaring with happiness. "Guren glassui" (My heart is glad!) She said the traditional words their people said at welcome news, before they even gave the news to her. The boys' eyes met, surprised at her unexpected greeting. By now they both understood enough to know she was congratulating them.

Why wasn't she worried at all about the health of the Prince's consort? How did she already know that Blaine didn't have something awful? The doctor, even an Eldari one, wouldn't broadcast Blaine's condition. "Grandmother, you don't seem very surprised to see us back here so soon, after seeing the doctor." Kurt said suspiciously. Had she_ known_ about Blaine's unsuspected heritage, and not told them?

Kiala's face straightened immediately, as she cut her eyes down, shamefaced. She raised them again, realizing she had been fairly caught and a blush coloured her countenance for the first time in many, many years. She inhaled and confessed to her grandson, whose face was darkening with anger.

"Yes, Kurt… I already knew Blaine had Eldari blood. It showed up on the blood test we did before you were bonded, though no one has been able to discover his lineage yet. I've made some discrete inquiries about anyone unbonded who might have been around Ohio eighteen years ago, but I haven't had any luck, so far. It's quite a mystery since, of course, whoever it was must have formed a permanent bond with your mother."

No one found it necessary to mention that Blaine's mother had been married to his father for nearly ten years before he was born, and that obviously, Gareth Anderson couldn't possibly be his real father, when Blaine looked so much like his mother.

"Why wouldn't you have mentioned that little piece of information to the person it concerned the most, Kiala." Kurt said very quietly, his voice cold and brittle. Kiala tilted her head, refusing to justifying her decision not to tell them, and didn't reply. Surely Kurt could guess why she'd kept it secret.

"Because she wanted an heir, as soon as possible, and she suspected we weren't going to give her one right away." Blaine answered for her. Her assumption was absolutely right, in that respect. The Elvari Prince and his consort had decided to wait a couple years before they had children, to spend a few years to focus on their own lives first. If they had _known_ they were both able to bear children, they would have been more careful. They would have….well, Blaine wasn't sure what they would have done, if neither of them could receive the other when they made love, without initiating the transsexual transformation Blaine had already undergone. But at least they would have used condoms, to prevent Blaine's shocking pregnancy.

"You only changed your mind about letting me bond with Kurt, because you discovered I had Eldari blood, didn't you?" Blaine accused her, though she shook her head in denial. The discovery had been an amazing relief, but no, she'd had no choice in letting them bond. It did explain how they had been drawn toward each other, long before they had known about their true heritage. But neither boy was listening to her excuses, or giving her a chance to explain how relieved she had felt. Maybe it had been a mistake not to tell them.

"You had no _right_ to mess with our lives like that! Blaine has gone through hell, because of your little secret. He's been physically and emotionally hijacked... and so have I. I thought he was going to leave me, because he was so miserable for the last six months. Do you have any idea what you PUT US THROUGH!" By now, Kurt was red-faced and shouting, incredibly pissed at his grandmother. Sapphire Throne, be damned! She would be lucky to ever _see_ him again, much less ever hold her great grandchild.

Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and whirled, stomping his way back out the door, dragging a shocked Blaine behind him. "We are getting the hell out of here, and it will be a frozen day in hell before we ever come back." Kurt snarled to Blaine as they made their way back to the helicopter.

They caught the pilots, about to leave, and re-boarded the helicopter. Kurt peremptorily ordered them to drop them off at Lima Airport. The pilot glanced to his co-pilot and reactivated the cockpit controls. Kurt was the Elvari Prince, so it was his duty to obey, though he radioed to the compound giving his destination. He didn't receive any immediate contradicting orders, so within a half hour they were back at the Lima airfield, buckling themselves into Kurt's Nav.

It didn't change Blaine's predicament, but he was tremendously proud of Kurt for telling off his grandmother. Man, the timing of this stupid thing really sucked. How were they going to deal with this? He was going to go through some pretty major physical changes, ones that would be hard to hide, since by the time he should graduate, he would be only a month short of full term. He still had more than four months of school left, during which he would have to perform with the Warblers at _Nationals_, change in the locker room with the rest of the guys when he took Phys Ed, and complete a full schedule of courses, during which he could lose his lunch any time or even pass out from exhaustion again. He didn't want to lose his last year of high school and not graduate with all his friends.

They returned to Kurt's house and went upstairs to his room, surprising Carole and Burt with their unexpected return and their silent retreat upstairs. Carole nodded meaningfully to Burt, hoping he would go find out what had happened, but he preferred to wait until Kurt came to him, rather than pry into their business, if they weren't ready to talk to him. She huffed impatiently and went to find out for herself. She tapped at the door, and softly asked for permission to enter. She opened the door to find them on his bed, with Blaine wrapped in Kurt's arms, both of them looking abject, sorely in need of comfort.

Her stomach felt hollow, hoping the news wasn't something absolutely terrible. She was a nurse, so she knew how many horrible things could go wrong, even with a presumably healthy young man.

"Blaine honey, are you alright? What did the doctor say? Do you have an ulcer or is it just a stomach flu? I could make you something light, if you could eat a bit now?" She went to sit on the bed and rubbed her son-in-law's arm comfortingly. Blaine suddenly left Kurt's side and wrapped himself around Carole, seeking comfort from someone who had been in his position before…well, sort of.

Kurt knew he had to tell his parents what had happened, but this wasn't coming easy. "Yes Carole, we found out what is causing Blaine's problems. It turns out that Blaine is…um…he's pregnant. He threw up because he has morning sickness, though I guess it's more like all day sickness, because it's not happening just in the morning. He's about six or seven weeks, the doctor says." Kurt saw no apparent response from Carole to his revelation. She was staring at him with a questioning expression, positive she had misheard him.

"I beg your pardon? It sounded like you said…Blaine was_ pregnant_?" Blaine pulled back and looked into Carole's eyes and nodded confirmation. "Yeah. It kind of floored me too. It seems I'm part Eldari too. We had no idea or we wouldn't have…um…risked it." Blaine finished awkwardly.

"Oh... My... God. Omygod... OMYGOD! We're going to be grandparents? OmyGOD! Wait until I tell Burt! Oh my god, this is amazing! But _you _should tell Burt. Kurt, go tell your father before I explode! Omygod! This is wonderful. You must be…."

Oh. Well, maybe …not. Kurt and Blaine had stared at her gloomily while she was blissed out with happiness, their expressions light years from ecstatic. Maybe this _wasn't _the wonderful news she had thought it was. Blaine was still in high school, and… Blaine was a BOY! Oh dear. Carole began to comprehend the problem.

Kurt sighed hopelessly. "What are we gonna do, Carole? How is Blaine going to finish his year, while he's carrying our baby? It sucks so bad that he should have to give up everything he's worked so hard for, just because we didn't _know_ he could get pregnant. I'm so sorry honey. I'm the one who should be dealing with this." Kurt, looking regretful, sagged into a slump on the bed.

"Hey, boys, don't forget that this is still wonderful news, even if the timing is unfortunate. Wow… I can hardly wait to see your little darling. Um, wait a second. Give me a few minutes. Let's see… There will be weight gain, you have some nausea, you might have to take it easy because you'll tire easily, and you will have a miraculous recovery when it's all over. I've _got_ it!"

"Blaine, you're going to tell people you're suffering from some kind of blood disorder, something like leukemia, but not quite as serious. The treatment will cause nausea, you'll get tired quickly and the steroids you'll have to take will cause emotional upheaval, increased appetite and weight gain. And luckily, you will survive and fully recover by the fall. Ta da! There's our solution." Carole leaned Blaine back and grinned at him, pleased to have come up with a solution to hide his pregnancy from everyone, but those closest to him.

"You are amazing Carole." Blaine said softly and hugged her again. "Do you really think we can pull this off?" Kurt was starting to look hopeful too, now that Blaine wasn't in such despair.

"I think that it's our best bet to get you graduated. If it looks like you might not make it through the last few weeks, maybe we can ask to have your homework and the exams sent home for you. Kurt will help you, won't you honey?" Kurt nodded gratefully and crawled over the bed to his step mother, to hug her gratefully too.

"Now boys, you need to go tell Burt the wonderful news before Finn comes back home and we have to tell him the sad news about Blaine's health taking a turn for the worse. God knows, I have to get all my happys out before I can manage to look all sympathetic and sorrowful. What did Kiala say when you told her? I bet she's around the moon with happiness, though I guess she was likely expecting _Kurt_ to be the fath…moth…um...bearer of her great-grandchild."

"Kiala. Urrrrgh! _She_ was the whole reason this happened! She _knew, _Carole! She knew already before we were bonded that Blaine was part Eldari and didn't bother to tell us about it. She's the reason Blaine always …" Kurt choked off his words, suddenly realizing the details of how Blaine got into this situation were a little too personal to share with his step mother. The blush that reddened his face and the subtle warning glance from Blaine were enough to explain his sudden tongue tie. "We would have taken more care, if we'd known." He finished softly. Blaine raised his eyebrows at him, silently thanking him for not saying any more.

Carole heard the undercurrents and knew that Kurt didn't want to talk about their sex lives, but Burt had explained a little bit about Eldari reproduction to her. She knew it took stimulation to the prostate to initiate the hormonal changes to enable pregnancy to occur. If they didn't want Kurt to get pregnant, that meant it was Blaine who was getting stimulated, because he shouldn't have been able to get pregnant if he was human. So where did his Eldari genes come from?

"Blaine, you didn't _know_ you had Eldari genes, and you could get pregnant? And Kiala _did _know? Are your parents Eldari, and no one bothered to mention it to you? Are you a foundling like Kurt?" Carole was confused. Surely some of Blaine's Eldari relatives should have attended their bonding ceremony?

"I didn't know anything about it! I gotta talk to my mother, because Gareth Anderson _can't_ be my father and I'd think she would have told me by now, if she was Eldari. I look a lot like her, so my father had to be an elf. That means he was bonded to her permanently, when they... Did he die, or did she just casually take off on him and leave him heartbroken for the rest of his life? I don't know yet, but I have to find out more about my lineage. We can't have an unknown lineage floating around the royal family. I mean, what if Kurt and I were related or something, through his father? Oh my god!" Blaine's hand went to his belly and he looked pale again, the nausea returning with a vengeance. He swallowed hard, and only the fact that he had hardly eaten anything recently kept him from retching.

Carole reacted instantly with concern. "Shh, Blaine, you have to stop freaking out about stuff. Relax and lie down and I'll get you some hot milk. Kurt, settle him down, okay? Whatever the truth turns out to be, it won't change anything at this late date. You'll find out more, and then we'll deal with it. Love will take care of everything and we love you both. Now, can I send your father up here so you can tell him the wonderful news?" Carole just couldn't keep the enormous grin off her face. The timing might have been better but she had always wanted more children, and now she would have grandchildren instead. She loved Kurt and Blaine just as much as her own son, so she viewed this grandchild as just as much hers, as Burt's.

Kurt had made his father sit down at his desk, before he would tell him the news, afraid he might pass out or something at the shock. Luckily, he'd already guessed from Carole's delighted grin that the news wasn't bad, but he just sat there looking stunned for a minute before he just gathered them both in a bear hug and shocked them both at his tears of happiness. "Holy cow, I am so happy for both of you _and_ for both of us. Thank you Kurt, and Blaine too. You couldn't make me any happier."

Then they told him about Carole's plan to cover up Blaine's pregnancy with a faked illness that explained his symptoms, with a miraculous cure at the end to explain his complete recovery. It was starting to filter into Kurt's head that he was going to be a father. That Blaine and he were going to have a baby and their little family would grow to three. It was intimidating and amazing, and exciting, and absolutely completely terrifying. What did he or Blaine know about being parents? All he knew was that he was so very grateful to have Carole and Burt as examples. They were the best parents he knew of, so with their help they should do alright.

Carole returned with some hot milk and some soda crackers with a light smear of peanut butter on them, sitting down on the opposite side of the bed from Burt. "Here Blaine, this got me through my pregnancy, and Finn seemed to have turned out okay. You have to eat more regularly, honey, even if you're not very hungry. Just little bits at a time will keep the nausea down, all right?" Blaine took the plate and nibbled on a cracker, finding they went down pretty well, and seemed to settle his stomach a bit. Kurt glanced at him in consideration and eyed Carole appraisingly.

It had occurred to him there were other ramifications to an infant added to a family of four men and one woman. "Carole? Can I ask you and Dad a really, really, _really_ big favour?" Carole smiled at Kurt expectantly. She would gladly do whatever she could for the two of them any time, but especially today, after hearing their news. Burt put his hand on his son's shoulder and gently squeezed. The kid should _know_ he didn't even have to ask, if it was at all possible for them to do it. Kurt smiled at him, grateful for the love he felt flowing through his touch.

"We have to explain the sudden appearance of a baby next summer, so would you two consider faking a pregnancy to help us cover up who its real parents are?" Kurt had considered asking Rachel for only about ten seconds before he decided Carole was a far better option. (Mercedes, whom he trusted implicitly, was also out, for obvious reasons). Carole wasn't a kid anymore but she wasn't too old to make a pregnancy believable. Her forty second birthday was coming up in two more months, and he'd heard of far older women having babies.

"Oh, Kurt ….Yes, I would be honoured to be the fake surrogate mother of your baby and pretend to have a sweet surprise pregnancy for Burt and I. Does this mean we get to look after her, while you two go to college?" She looked so eager, both boys laughed.

"We're not giving up our baby to you and Dad entirely, Carole. We just need something believable for outsiders, to explain his or her presence. But yes, I hope you don't mind you probably will end up helping us out a lot. I told Kiala that she'll be lucky to ever see this baby. It seriously wasn't fair to take advantage of Blaine that way.. The woman values that stupid throne over _everything_ else, including her family." Kurt grumbled about his grandmother blindsiding them with the news that Blaine was part Eldari, instead of sharing her knowledge with them, the way she should have.

Burt gripped Kurt's shoulder harder, and levelled with him. "Try not to be too hard on her, Kurt. She owes that devotion to her people. It might have been years and years, before one of you got pregnant, even if the odds were doubled by Blaine being able to bear a child too. Believe me, no one ever feels ready to have a child. It's scary for everyone and at least you have each other...and us."

Both boys remembered that Carole had managed to raise Finn on her own, and his Dad had raised him alone too, and felt a little stronger at having her and Burt to help them. Blaine leaned back against Kurt again, blinking sleepily, before he covered a yawn behind his hand.

Burt patted Blaine's leg. "Hey, Buddy, why don't you grab some shut eye for a little while? Can you two stay for supper before you head back to school?" Blaine glanced back to Kurt, saw his agreement and nodded.

Kurt murmured an inaudible question and Blaine shook his head. "No. I'm just going to sleep, so why don't you go downstairs and hang out with your parents for a bit before we eat dinner. I think I might be able to even eat something tonight. Thank you, Carole and Burt. You don't know how much this means to us, to have your support and your love. I wish you were my real parents, instead of whoever is." Blaine scrunched down onto the bed and hugged the pillow that smelled like Kurt's bodywash.

"We_ are_ your parent's now Blaine, just as much as we're Kurt's parents." Carole leaned over to kiss his temple and he smiled sleepily and closed his eyes, nearly asleep already, as Kurt stood up and kissed him too. All the tension and fear had washed out of him, confident Kurt and he could do anything, with their help. Burt smiled at the nearly sleeping boy and felt brave enough to lean over and place a kiss on his temple too. They had all been so freaking lucky, the day that Kurt had met this boy at Dalton. Kurt's eyes watered with affection, at seeing his father's fondness for Blaine.

Kurt and his father were sitting on the couch, with Burt cuddling him comfortingly under one arm, when Finn got back for supper. "Hey dudes. Um... Is something up?" Kurt was usually gone by Saturday. What was he doing here and why did everyone look like they had eaten something bad? "You and Blaine have some kind of fight or something, man?" He went to the couch and sat on the arm, awkwardly patting Kurt's back. He cared a lot about his step-brother, but it weirded him, to tell him so.

Carole, listening from the kitchen, explained, more comfortable with medical situations than Burt or Kurt. "Kurt and Blaine got some really bad news today. Blaine has been feeling really crummy lately, exhausted and nauseous. The doctor said he's apparently got some sort of blood disorder. He's going to be okay eventually, but its going to be a rough few months of treatment before then."

Finn's mouth fell open in dismay. "Holy Geeze, man! That really sucks. I'm so sorry Kurt. Is there anything I can do, or I guess Mom and Dad got it covered, right?"

Kurt heard him referring to his father as his dad too, and smiled at him. It was pretty wonderful to have parents who loved you…and a brother too. He reached his hand out to Finn, who took it without a second thought or a reservation and squeezed it gently. "Thank you, Finn. I appreciate you caring. Blaine and I love you too." Finn smiled back at him, with only a hint of embarrassment at saying what he felt. "Back at ya, dude." Kurt squeezed his hand briefly, before Finn let him go then, having reached his limit of mush for the day.

Burt figured he might as well drop the other bomb, and finish tuning his step son in. "Hey Finn. That's not all the news we have. There's something else I hope will make you just as happy as your Mom and I are. Our family is going to grow again because we're going to have a baby, a little brother or sister, this summer. "

Finn nearly fell off the arm of the couch in surprise, he looked so astounded. Surely he must have known it was at least a possibility. Carole and Burt weren't all that old, and they _were_ sleeping together every night. Burt didn't want to admit how much he had secretly hoped it might happen. On the other hand, he and Carole weren't getting any younger. A baby was going to keep them up at nights and - holy cow, he would be sixty five before this kid got through college. On second thought, he decided he was pretty darn happy with the three boys he already had.

When Blaine came downstairs for dinner, still looking pale and tired, Finn wordlessly went to him and gathered him in his arms, surprising him into going stiff. He looked over Finn's shoulder from where he stood on the second step that made him close to Finn's height. Burt mouthed, "we told him you're sick". Blaine hugged Finn back, touched that he would show him how much he cared.

Blaine wasn't able to eat much, but he did eat some of the salad, carrots and potatoes. Nobody nagged him to eat any more, though he felt everyone's concerned eyes on him. Most of them knew he wasn't really sick, but it was sort of nice to have everyone worried about him anyway. Kurt kept trying to hold his hand, nearly overwhelmed by having finally realized that Blaine was _freaking carrying his baby! _"I love you" he mouthed, not caring if they were watching. They all understood.

Burt watched his son and his son in law, and reached a hand for Carole too. "I love you" he mouthed, with a smile. Finn watched both of them and merely shrugged, thinking a new brother would be kind of awesome. He loved Rachel, but he knew they weren't ready yet for this kind of stuff. Someday though. Hey maybe a little brother or sister would give him a good training opportunity for the day he and Rachel had kids... in about ten or fifteen years.

"Hey, dudes. Do you think you might ever want to have kids someday?"

Kurt looked up at Finn in surprise. How did he know? Blaine answered for him. "Definitely. I think we'll make great parents, with Burt and Carole to show us how it's done." Kurt grinned at him, thinking he must have been reading his mind earlier.

Finn nodded in agreement. "Cool! I'll look forward to being their Uncle Finn, then." Kurt stared at his plate, hesitant to look at anyone and give away his feelings. He felt tears coming to his eyes again, with too many feeling to contain, so grateful for his loving family.

"Yeah, that's what families do, Buddy they're willing to pitch in and help whoever needs it. Just give us the word, if you need anything, Blaine." Burt added as he grabbed some plates and took them to the kitchen.

"Yeah. Me too. Um, let me know if you need a ride to the doctor's or anything Blaine. You're like, part of the family now, dude." Finn nudged Blaine's shoulder, while helping to clear up dinner.

"Thanks Finn, but I can probably drive myself from school. I intend to try to keep up as much as I can, and Kurt is always willing to help if I can't." Kurt helped him with his coat as they prepared to leave for Dalton again, and they shared hugs all around again, before they left.

Carole murmured to Blaine, before they went out the door. "Let me know when my due date is, alright? I'll have to book time off of work, I guess." Kurt realized he was going to have to ask Kiala for help again, to get medical assistance for Blaine and to get some fake documentation for Carole's maternity leave. He was starting to get over his anger at her…slightly. She was his only blood relative. She was their baby's great grandmother. And she was his queen.


End file.
